


the tide of her breathing

by Kaatiba



Series: Cherry Wine [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 'Team Avatar' more like 'Protect Zuko Squad', Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 3: Fire, Episode s03e09: Nightmares and Daydreams, Episode: s03e02 The Headband, Episode: s03e03 The Painted Lady, Episode: s03e04 Sokka's Master, Episode: s03e05 The Beach, Episode: s03e06 The Avatar and the Fire Lord, Episode: s03e07 The Runaway, Episode: s03e08 The Puppetmaster, Episode: s03e10-11 The Day of Black Sun, F/M, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fire Nation Lore (Avatar), Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, POV Alternating, Season 3 rewrite, Southern Water Tribe, The Gaang Learns How Zuko Got The Scar (Avatar), Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Zuko's Scar (Avatar), zuko joins the gaang early
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 67,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24861919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaatiba/pseuds/Kaatiba
Summary: (Sequel to "like rum on the fire" but can be read independently)Zuko makes a different choice back in Ba Sing Se and the rest is history...ORA remake of Book 3 where Zuko joined the Gaang early
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Mai & Ty Lee & Zuko, Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Past Mai/Zuko - Relationship, Roku & Sozin (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: Cherry Wine [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798858
Comments: 451
Kudos: 1310
Collections: Zutara Month 2020





	1. The Headband

_“Her eyes and words are so icy_

_Oh but she burns_

**_Like rum on the fire_ **

_Hot and fast and angry as she can be_

_I walk my days on a wire._

_It looks ugly, but it's clean,_

_Oh momma, don't fuss over me._

_The way she tells me I'm hers and she is mine_

_Open hand or closed fist would be fine_

_The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine.”_

**_-Hozier, Cherry Wine_ **

* * *

Aang perked up from Appa’s neck, “I think I see a cave below!”

“Shh! Keep quiet!” Sokka complained. Now that they were no longer traveling on the stolen Fire Nation ship, their cover was basically nonexistent. Sokka had allowed them one extra day of relaxation after Zuko woke up to give him time to rest, but eventually he had to demand they leave or else put themselves at risk of being caught. 

Obligingly, Aang airbended a large cloud to surround Appa as the flying bison landed. Sokka jumped down once Appa hit the ground. He turned imperiously to face what he’d dubbed “Team Avatar.” The others were reluctant to use the awesome name, but he knew they’d come around.

“Great job with the cloud camo, but next time, let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud that knows how to keep its mouth shut,” he scolded. He was starting to feel like Katara with all the nagging, but now that she was distracted mooning over Zuko, _someone_ had to make sure they didn’t all get themselves killed. 

Toph rolled her eyes, _I wonder where she even learned to do that_ , “Yeah, we wouldn't want a _bird_ to hear us chatting up there and turn us in.”

“Hey, we're in enemy territory,” he shot Zuko a quick look, “sorry, bud.” Zuko put his hands up, “No offence taken.” So Sokka continued, pointing at the sky they’d just descended from and the flock of toucan puffins flying there, “Those are enemy birds!”

He startled as one of the toucan puffins jumped onto his head and screeched loudly. Everyone giggled, even Zuko smirked a bit, and Sokka felt his cheeks heat. _I’m still right_.

The others all began to walk towards the cave, so Sokka jumped in front of them, wanting to make sure the coast was clear, that they weren’t walking into some kind of trap. He scanned the area suspiciously before creeping into the cave and peering around. 

Deeming the coast clear, he waved the others in. It really was just a dark, dank cave in the middle of an island in the middle of nowhere.

“Well, this is it,” he lamented, gesturing his arms around at the grim accommodations. “ _This_ is how we'll be living until the invasion begins,” he sighed loudly, “hiding in _cave_ after _cave_ after _cave_ after _cave…_ ” 

It was his little sister’s turn to roll her eyes, “Sokka, we don't need to become cave people. What we need is some new clothes,” he looked down at his blue tunic he’d changed back into, “We need _civilian_ Fire Nation clothes, for everyone!”

Aang seemed relieved by that plan, _the traitor_ , “Yeah, Sokka, blending in is better than hiding out!”

Toph spoke from the rock she’d decided to lounge on, “Plus, they have real food out there. Does anyone really want to sit in the dirt and eat cave hoppers?” She punched the cave wall, causing cave hoppers to jump out. They looked disgusting. Momo grabbed one and stuffed it in his mouth. 

“ _Momo’s_ not complaining,” Sokka said, turning his head away in revulsion when the lemur spit out an insect limb. 

Sokka turned to Zuko. _Ah, yes, my brother in reason_ , he thought. _Back me up_.

But Zuko just shrugged, “It’s gonna be harder to gather important intel if we completely isolate ourselves,” Katara smiled at him, and he turned towards her, “besides...I think you guys need to _understand_ the Fire Nation...as more than just the enemy…”

Sokka bit back a mean retort at that, noticing the genuine homesickness in his friend’s eyes. Zuko did almost just _die_ to help save them a day or two ago. And Sokka _had_ sort of started enjoying Fire Flakes and all the traditional Fire Nation food Zuko had put in front of them back on the ship…

Besides, the Prince would surely know enough to help them keep their cover...

He sighed, turning to Momo. “Looks like we got outvoted, sport. Let's go get some new clothes.”

* * *

After searching the island for an hour or so, they finally came across a house besides a waterfall. Next to the home, clothes were hung out to dry on clotheslines over natural steam vents. The familiar geography made Zuko’s heart hurt just a bit.

_This wasn’t how he imagined coming back home for the first time in three years_...

He felt better when Katara gave his hand a quick squeeze. He smiled down at her...he knew he could talk to her about it more later. 

Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph hide behind a rock wall next to Zuko who considered how he felt about this.

He didn’t like the idea of stealing from his own people. _I am still part of the Royal Family_ , he thought, _and these aren’t rich nobles_. On the other hand, he’d stolen back when he’d first been on the run with his Uncle in the Earth Kingdom. And that had been out of pride and the desire to provide for Uncle, while this was for survival. For the greater good.

Aang echoed some of his conflicted thoughts out loud, and in the end, he followed after Katara and the others who seemed all too excited to change out of their muddy and torn clothes. 

“I call the silk robe!” Katara yelled.

“...if it's essential to our survival ... then I call the suit!” Aang also ran to catch up to her. 

They all picked through the clothesline, trying to find the right fit. Zuko chose a simple short sleeve red wrap top and pants with a gold and brown tunic to put over, and finally, some brown and yellow boots that would stand out less than the navy grade leather ones he had on. 

He ducked behind a rock to change out his clothes. It was strange, being back in clothing that he might’ve worn on casual days back in the palace before everything went wrong...It wasn’t quite as luxurious and fancy as the clothes he’d worn then, but it’d been so long since he’d worn his country’s colors in something other than a military uniform. It just made his homesickness even worse.

_I wish Uncle were here_ , he thought sadly. He tucked the engraved dagger into the belt of his new tunic and threw his sheathed Dao swords over his back. _That_ , at least, was a familiar and comforting weight. 

Sokka had given his weapons back to him the day before with the message from his Uncle. Zuko resolved to find a messenger hawk in a town somewhere and write to Uncle as soon as he could.

He heard Aang from a few feet away and went back to join the others. He saw Aang tie a headband around his forehead, “Ta-dah! Normal kid.”

“Not so fast,” Zuko ripped the headband off, feeling grumpier than the situation called for. “You can still see all of your arrow on the top, genius.” Aang frowned up at him with beseeching grey eyes. 

“Fine,” Zuko pocketed the headband, “Once you grow your hair out long enough, you can wear it, but until then,” he reached over and found a funny looking red hat, “wear this.” He stuffed it onto the Avatar’s head. He also pulled Aang’s collar up to hide the arrow on his neck better for good measure.

Sokka laughed at him, and Aang whined, but Zuko was unmoved, “Don’t want to wear the dumb hat? Then grow your hair out faster.”

Toph laughed with Sokka who stopped laughing after Toph punched out the soles of her shoes which smacked the boy in the face. 

“Finally, a stylish shoe for the blind earthbender,” she quipped, looking proud. Secretly, Zuko felt his own flush of pride seeing his new friends in Fire Nation clothes. 

_See?_ He wanted to say. _We’re more than just our soldiers, more than just this war_ , but he was distracted by a familiar voice that caused him to turn. 

“How do I look?” Katara asked.

Zuko’s stomach did a funny dance, and his heart rate sped up so much, he thought he might be going into cardiac arrest _again_. Toph even turned to him curiously, hearing it, but he ignored her, eyes glued to Katara, who was a vision in red before him. 

She was wearing a long red skirt and a red halter top that left her midriff exposed. Her hair was half-up half-down, sort of like it’d been on the ship, but now she’d decorated it with red hair ties, and her wrists and upper arms were encircled with golden cuffs. 

Simply put, she was the most beautiful person Zuko had ever seen. 

He was blushing furiously, but he didn’t want to leave Katara hanging, so he told the truth.”

“You look gorgeous,” he said, and now she was the one blushing. 

Even Aang, the young monk was blushing beet red, “Uh ... your mom's necklace,” he pointed out. 

“Oh,” Katara looked disappointed as she reached down to touch the pendant, “oh, yeah. I guess it's pretty obviously Water Tribe, isn't it?” She pulled it off and looked at it in her hand a bit wistfully. 

“Anyways,” she put back on a chipper face, “let’s go find some food and explore a real Fire Nation town, huh?”

They all began towards the path that seemed to lead into town, and Zuko hung back to walk by Katara, and waited until the others were out of earshot. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, gesturing at the necklace still clutched in her fist.

She nodded, “Actually I was kind of hoping you could keep it safe for me,” she nudged his arm playfully, “after all,that's kind of our thing, isn't it?"

He smiled softly, “Yeah, it kind of is.”

She handed it to him, and he placed it in the pocket of his tunic beside his Uncle’s dagger. _Two of the most important items in my life_. 

He wanted to take her hand as they kept walking, but just then Sokka turned around and yelled at them both to hurry up. Besides, they still hadn’t talked about what their kiss(es) the day before meant for them. 

So he settled for stealing shy glances at her as they all walked together into a city full of his countrymen. 

He felt more and more somber as they approached the edge of the city.

_The Banished Prince returns home_ , he thought wryly. He pulled the hood of the cloak he’d taken last minute over his head to hide his scar.

Katara took his hand, and without overthinking it, he grabbed back tightly. Together, they walked into the city.


	2. The Enrollment

“Ooh!” Katara excitedly pointed towards open air merchants in the town square. Zuko chuckled and looked at the group appraisingly. “You guys are almost there, but you do need to do a bit more with the details.”

“Like what?” she wondered. Zuko just steered them all towards some carts with jewelry and hairpieces. 

Aang helped Toph figure out which headband looked best as a replacement for her old one, while Sokka perused the hairclips. After he chose one, Zuko helped him put it up in a top knot. Katara figured Zuko’s hair was long enough to do a small top knot as well, but his long hair acted as part of his disguise in hiding his recognizable scar. 

She found herself drifting towards one cart with a number of necklaces. Her fingers traced over the unfamiliar red jewels in the center and admired the unfamiliar geometric cuts.

She felt Zuko at her elbow. “Garnets,” he murmured, looking at the choker she held. 

“Does this one look okay?” she held it up to her neck. The weight and fit wasn’t quite right, but it was better than feeling overly vulnerable and exposed without any kind of replacement for her mother’s necklace. Zuko nodded, “You’d look good in any of these,” he said.

The compliment took Katara’s breath away like most of Zuko’s compliments did. They were always just so painfully honest. Zuko wasn’t smooth, but he was always so sincere, and it made her blush. 

“Thanks,” she murmured, placing a few money pieces down on the counter. She turned around and lifted her hair so Zuko could help her put it on, just like the time he’d done it in a closet on a ship which felt like years ago. 

They all regrouped in the shade of an alleyway.

Aang turned to face them all, “I used to visit my friend Kuzon here a hundred years ago! So, everyone just follow my lead-” Zuko raised a skeptical eyebrow, “and Zuko’s too, I guess.” Zuko rolled his eyes. 

“-and stay cool. Or, as they say in the Fire Nation, stay flamin'!”

“ _Nobody_ says that,” Zuko muttered under his breath, but Aang was already strutting forward into the small crowd. They heard his chipper voice, “Greetings, my good hotman,” and Katara didn’t bother to stop Zuko from facepalming as the rest of them followed.

They were all getting hungry, so Sokka followed his nose to a small dine-in restaurant. Katara had to admit the smell of a sizzling grill was luring her in as well. Zuko wasn’t a bad cook in the least when he’d made them meals back on the ship, but he had been working with a limited supply of shelf stable ingredients. 

“Oh, we're going to a meat place?” Aang muttered, not as enthused as the rest of them.

Sokka slapped him on the back, “Come on, Aang, everyone here eats meat! Even the meat.” Sokka pointed behind them in an alleyway where a large hippo cow stood eating a piece of meat swarmed with flies. The sight made her question her appetite.

Aang still hesitated, “You guys go ahead. I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage or something.” Katara frowned since that was obviously not an adequate solution. 

Zuko also paused, looking unhappy, but for a different reason. “We can’t just leave you out here all by yourself, who knows what you’ll get up to-”

Katara heard Zuko’s stomach growl, and sensing his hunger was contributing to his grumpiness, she pushed him inside ahead of her. 

She turned back to Aang, “Zuko’s right, so just be careful, but..I get it if the smells bothers you.” Aang’s vegetarianism made it hard to cook for them all sometimes, but Katara was used to it by now, and she respected her friend enough to accommodate his wishes.

Besides, she was just too hungry to argue.

He nodded gratefully, and Katara followed Zuko inside the restaurant. 

* * *

“I knew it,” Zuko muttered furiously, “we should’ve never left that little-”

Katara’s concerned voice cut across both Sokka and Zuko’s pacing. They’d been getting into a sort of matching rhythm. His sister hadn’t joined them, but she’d been stoking the fire angrily as they all waited. 

“Where have you been? We've been worried sick!” Katara cried. They all turned towards the mouth of the cave they’d made their homebase earlier. 

Aang looked far too chipper as he pulled off his ridiculous hat and entered the cave, “I got invited to play with some kids after school!

“After _what_?!” Sokka and Zuko cried in unison. 

Aang just smiled easily, “I enrolled in a Fire Nation school, and I'm going back tomorrow.” His face became stubborn as he said this last bit. 

Sokka felt like his brain was overheating. Beside him, Zuko seemed to literally be smoking a bit. “Enrolled in _what_?!” Sokka cried, falling to the floor in disbelief.

Aang went on, unawares, “Hey Zuko, you didn’t tell me this was a school uniform.” Sokka turned to look at him now, curious.

Zuko looked a bit embarrassed, like he’d failed in some way. “I-I didn’t know, I was taught in the palace by royal tutors..I was never really allowed to hang out with kids my age.” He shrugged, and Sokka felt a stab of pity for his friend. 

He recalled Iroh’s words the last time they’d talked, _“The world has not been very kind to my nephew, and he has not had many friends along the way.”_

He shrugged the feeling off in favor of the more immediate concern, which was of course, that Aang apparently _wanted_ the Fire Nation to discover and capture them all. 

“Be reasonable Aang, there’s a difference between hiding in plain sight and _dangling_ yourself in front of the Firelord!” Sokka argued, but Aang just stomped his foot like the child he was. 

“No! I’m going back, and you can’t stop me!”

Sokka was speechless. He turned to Zuko, who’d offered a hand to help him off the ground. The only words Zuko seemed to have were, “I’m going to _kill_ him.”

This time, Sokka had to agree with the hotheaded Prince.


	3. The Burden

“You guys should’ve heard their oath, it was all like ‘My life I give to my country. With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country. And with my feet may our March of Civilization continue’, that’s what they call the war, the ‘March of Civilization’, can you believe that!”

Aang was jumping around the campfire, too energized to sit still as he told them all about his first full day in Fire Nation school. Katara would’ve found it amusing, if the information wasn’t so worrisome. Already, the blatant propaganda was enraging her. 

“And they had this _giant_ portrait of the Firelord on the wall that they-” he cut off, and she followed his gaze to Zuko who was looking a bit pale. “-sorry, I mean, well, there’s this big picture of your dad, and anyways,” Aang rushed onwards, “their history book was all wrong!” he shuddered, eyes getting distant, “They claimed the Air Nomads had an army! And that there was a great battle where Sozin defeated them,” they all shook their heads in disgust, except for Zuko who just looked vaguely ill. 

“Aang, that’s awful, I’m sorry you had to hear that,” Katara tried to offer some comfort. Even if it _was_ his own reckless idea to attend the school in the first place, it would be hard to hear about the genocide of his people talked about so callously. 

He nodded grimly before changing the subject and moving around again, “ _then_ we had music, but they took all the soul out of it! The teacher thought my dancing was some kind of nervous disorder, and kept talking about ‘ _rigid discipline_ ’ and _‘order’_ ,” Aang used air quotes, “and how I could march to show off my _love for my nation_ , oh yeah, and there was _another_ huge portrait of Ozai-”

Aang cut himself off uncertainly as Zuko stood up from the campfire he’d started. “I uh- I’m gonna get some fresh air,” he mumbled, already heading outside the cave.

Katara was torn between being here for Aang as he processed the Fire Nation propaganda and Zuko as he relived memories of his own experience with “rigid Fire Nation style discipline” and the glorification of his abusive father.

She decided Zuko’s need might be greater, so she peeled away from the group after giving Aang a reassuring pat, “It’s not you, don’t worry...I’ll go check on him.”

She found him standing on a cliff face overlooking the sea, the wind blowing his hair around his face. He looked miserable at best. 

She didn’t want to spook him, so she just stood next to him and looked out over the water. 

Eventually, he spoke, not facing her yet, “He’s right...it’s all _wrong_ , all the history, all of it...” he looked down, “and I know that _now_ , after traveling the world and seeing for myself what this war has done...” he looked to Katara, eyes lost and full of shame, “but I used to believe it, Katara, I really did. I thought the Air Nomads _deserved_ it,” his voice broke on what sounded like a guilty sob, “I would’ve believed t-that the Southern Water Tribe....” his breaths were sharp as he tried to calm himself down. 

Katara sighed. “Oh, Zuko...” she looked out at the waxing moon. She was in over her head. They were both too young to be grappling with something like this. On the one hand, she cared deeply for the boy next to her, the boy who’d almost died for her more than once. 

On the other, his was a legacy of destruction and death and suffering. He’d only been a boy, but at one point he had been complicit in the imperialism that caused the subjugation and death of countless innocent people, including her people...

“Do you remember what I said to you back in Ba Sing Se?” she asked hesitantly.

He lowered his head, “That I’m the Fire Lord's son. That Spreading war and violence and hatred is in my blood?”

“No!..well, _yes_...I did say that,” she was surprised he’d remembered her exact words, had probably let them rattle around in his head more than once, “but what I said later....that I don’t think you’re a monster...that I think you’re good, Zuko.”

He turned to her, still looking disbelieving. “My family has hurt _so_ many people, Katara, your _mom-_ ”

She flinched at the reminder, but kept going, “ _Yes, they have_. But you’re here now, Zuko. You can’t let all the terrible things your family has done overwhelm you and stop you from doing better...” she grabbed his hand, afraid he wasn’t listening to her. “ _Zuko_ , your father’s sins are not yours. As for your own sins, well...I think you’ve made up for them, and even if you haven’t that doesn’t stop you from doing good _now_. All that matters is what you choose to do with the rest of your life, and so far, you’re off to a good start.” She squeezed his hand for good measure. 

“Thank you,” he whispered, closing his eyes and squeezing back, but he still looked upset.

“Is it...is it also your father?” She had a few choice words for the man herself, but she didn’t know where Zuko’s head was.

Zuko nodded mutely. “...Until now, the idea of turning on my fa-the Firelord has been some big, abstract idea, and it was easier because he wasn’t there, and I haven’t even seen him since I was 13...” he took a big breath, “but now...it’s like I can feel his presence, and I,” he shook his head in defeat, “I hate it.. _.I hate him_ ,” he said vehemently, touching the rough scar tissue under his eye, “but I...I also still..I also still love him I guess.” 

His shoulders sagged, and Katara hugged him from the side. She didn’t say anything yet, letting his breathing even as they both watched the moon and the waves. _That’s right_ , she thought, _breathe in and out_. 

“You can feel both,” she murmured, squeezing him a bit tighter. “You can’t punish yourself for the way you feel, it’s natural for someone to crave their parent’s affection! The only thing that’s unnatural is...is what he did to you...” She now felt like she was bruising his ribs. 

She could feel his slow nod. “I guess so..”

“It was _cruel_ and it was _wrong_ , Zuko.” She pulled back and moved in front of him, cupping his face in her hands. “You deserved better, okay? You still deserve better..”

“I know the others don’t understand, and I...I don’t want to defend him, but...it’s just so confusing for me,” he shrugged. “I know now my future and my destiny is to help Aang, but it doesn’t erase my past or my ties to it.”

“Maybe..” Katara hedged, “ _maybe_ you should talk to the others about this too..”

“About-” his hand came up to his scar, and his eyes widened. 

“Everything,” she shrugged. “I’ll always be here for you to talk to, but we’re all your friends, and we all want to help you, so...whenever you're ready let the rest of your friends help you too.”

He leaned forward and gently kissed her on the top of her head. 

“Thank you, Katara, you’re..” he shook his head as if searching for the right words, “I don’t deserve you as a friend, you’re an amazing person.”

Katara thought about fussing at him. _I just_ told you _that you deserve good things, idiot!_ But she decided to take the compliment.

“Now let’s get back inside, I’m not making dinner without help..”

With that, Katara walked with Zuko back into the cave, hoping he’d left some of his burdens outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So at this point Zuko and Katara have not defined what they are to each other. Partly bc I dread writing an established relationship, but mostly bc I think it's realistic for them to not be in a rush bc they're young, in the middle of a WAR, and aren't worried about losing each other/being separated anytime soon, so they have room and time to figure things out slowly/naturally..


	4. The Meeting

“Ahh, thank Tui and Lau, Zuko’s here now!” Sokka ran over and dragged Zuko by the arm so that he staggered inside the cave where the others were gathered. 

“What’s happened?” Zuko muttered suspiciously, having only just gotten back from his “walk.” 

(Sokka knew Zuko was just as paranoid as he was, and was really doing regular perimeter checks, but he agreed with the notion so didn’t call the boy out on it.)

“This  _ moron- _ ” Aang squawked a protest “-got himself a  _ meeting with the principal _ .” Sokka threw his hands in the air, “Only day two and he’s already picking fights with Fire Nation kids!”

“You got in a fight?” Zuko turned to Aang and glared sternly, placing his hands on his hips. It sort of reminded Sokka of Katara’s mannerisms and he vaguely wondered if they were rubbing off on each other. 

Aang shrugged, feigning innocence, “Well, more like someone got into a fight with  _ me _ ..” Zuko cocked an eyebrow and Aang continued, “I swear! He kept coming at me for hitting on his girlfriend and-”

Now Katara had raised an eyebrow as well, “You were  _ hitting on a girl? _ ”

“No, no! I mean she  _ was  _ nice and cute,” Sokka squawked and Aang blushed, “But no- he was just confused and...the point is  _ someone  _ is going to have to play my parents and go to the meeting!” He collapsed on the stone in embarrassed exasperation and Toph gave him a sympathetic punch to the shoulder.

Sokka rubbed his chin in his signature “thinking pose.” 

“I guess there’s no choice,” he turned to Katara, “we’ll have to be Aang’s parents.”

Katara pretended to vomit, “Ew, Sokka! That’s disgusting on so many levels.”

“Well who else is gonna do it!” Sokka defended, “Zuko is way too recognizable with his scar, and Toph is too young, so that only leaves you and me!”

He turned to Zuko to hear his input, and his friend just stood there pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Even if the two of you could pass for natural born Fire Nation citizens, which by the way, you can’t, how would the two of you,” he gestured at Sokka and his sister, “lead to... _ him _ ,” Zuko finished by pointing at Aang. 

Sokka scrunched his nose up at the implication.

“We’ll just say we’re from the colonies!” Zuko rolled his eyes, irking Sokka, “Okay, genius,” he accused, “what’s  _ your  _ great idea?” 

_ He just wants to pretend to be married to Katara himself _ , Sokka thought in annoyance.

“Just let Katara go alone,” Zuko said like it was obvious. “Imply that Aang’s dad is full blooded Fire Nation and off fighting in the war...I mean there are plenty of divided families who’ve been separated because of it...And even if there weren’t, there are also plenty of single parents and-”

Sokka put his hands up, tired of the condescending tone. “Okay, okay, we get it.” He turned to his sister, “Okay, Katara, give us your best Fire Nation mom impression.”

She shrugged helplessly, “What do you want me to say?”

Sokka thought, “Okay, roleplay time! I’ll be the headmaster.” He puffed his chest out and deepened his voice to a pompous growl,  _ “Greetings, Madam. What’s your name?” _

“Uhh,” Katara’s eyes widened, searching, “Mrs. Fire!” she blurted out, “Uh...Sapphire Fire. My name is Sapphire Fire!”

Zuko cradled his whole face in his hands in despair or exasperation. Sokka couldn’t tell. 

“Not too bad, sis!” he reassured Katara, but Zuko interrupted him before he could say anything else.

“New idea,” Zuko said, “We just  _ leave  _ this town entirely.”

“Huh.” There was a collective pause as everyone considered this.  _ Why didn’t I think of that?  _ Sokka wondered sheepishly. 

“Fine,” Aang pouted, sensing defeat, “but not until I show the next generation of Fire Nation kids the power and joy of dance!”

“Agni, help me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catch the double innuendo?
> 
> Also, imagine how much time would be saved in filler episodes if Zuko had been there to just shut down all their bad ideas and get them to bail and focus on the mission. 
> 
> *insert any unnecessary goofball scheme*  
> Zuko: Let's NOT and say we did.


	5. The Dance

Despite his many vocalized reservations, Zuko had agreed to help light all the candles Aang had found to decorate their cave for the ~~house~~ cave party

“I still think this is a bad idea,” the firebender muttered for the fifth time in the last half hour as they tidied up. 

“I know,” Katara patted his arm sympathetically. Zuko was right of course. It _was_ a ridiculous idea. But the selfish part of Katara did sort of want an excuse to relax and act like normal teenagers for a night.

She’d never admit it, but the whole Zuko getting captured and almost dying and having to rescue him thing had really stressed her out. She needed a bit of a break. And she enjoyed dancing whenever she used to do it back in her village during Solstice feasts and celebrations.

_Besides_ , she thought, _I can probably lure Zuko into at least one dance and that’ll sort of make the whole thing worth it_. 

“Zuko!” Aang bounced over, “If I brought you a tsungi horn, would you play it for us?!”

Zuko gave the boy a glare that could melt ice. _Literally_. 

“Okayyy, I’ll just get everyone from music class to play.” He ran over to ask Toph to earthbend a small stage for the band. 

Katara, Sokka, and Zuko watched as Aang sent Appa to hide in the recesses of the cave. 

Katara sighed, “This is-” 

“Ridiculous,” Sokka and Zuko responded at the same time. 

She shrugged, and they turned to the mouth of the cave when Toph called out, “They’re here.” Sure enough, a crowd of young kids in Fire Nation clothes wandered inside the cave looking extremely hesitant and wary. 

Aang ran over to greet them all by name in excited voices, and Katara felt a spurt of fondness for the kid. He was just so pure in his friendliness. She looked over at her brother and Zuko and saw that even their expressions had softened upon seeing Aang’s unadulterated enthusiasm.

_Aang deserves to be a normal kid sometimes. We all do_. 

She looked at Zuko’s profile. 

After more kids filtered in, some carrying instruments she’d never seen before, Aang dragged them through some awkward introductions using their fake names. 

According to Zuko “Sapphire Fire” was “the worst alias ever invented”, so she was going by “Zuri.” She was only a _bit_ bitter about the switch. 

Zuko was sticking with his alias as a refugee in Ba Sing Se, “Lee.” Sokka was “Tomo” and Toph was now “Sue.” Aang was still taking on the name of his former friend “Kuzon” as a form of sentimentality which Katara found both touching and saddening.

Eventually Aang coerced a number of the kids to move on top of the platforms Toph had created and they started playing their instruments.

The sound was...interesting.

Katara had never heard anything quite like it. There was a boy playing a strange horned trumpet and several girls plucking at string instruments. It was very fast-paced and the sounds were all layered in a way that straddled the line between chaotic and harmonious. 

It was very different to the music she and Sokka had heard back in the South Pole. They didn’t have any string instruments, mainly drums made with animal skins, and besides, a lot of the music sung at festivals and celebrations was made using chanting, singing, and different throat techniques more than instruments. 

Aang said something about “The Flamey-Os”, and Katara smiled as she noticed Zuko was subconsciously tapping his foot in time to the song like it was a familiar rhythm. He caught her looking at him and cleared his throat.

“That’s a uh _pipa_ ,” he pointed at the string instrument one of the girls was playing, “and that one over there,” he pointed at a bowed instrument, “is called a _morin khuur_ which makes a sound like a horse neighing or a uh breeze blowing,” Zuko blushed like he was embarrassed at having once again revealed his nerdy side, but Katara beamed at him for it. Even Sokka seemed to be listening. 

Aang, however, seemed put out at being the only one on the makeshift dance floor. He turned around waiting for his new friends to join. 

“ _Now_ what do we do?” one of the kids asked. 

“This is when you start dancing…” Aang tried for a smile, but it faltered when he got no reaction.

Another voice piped up, “I don't think my parents want me dancing in a cave …”

“Yeah! What if someone finds out?!” Several of the kids began glancing around nervously.

Katara frowned. She felt bad for these kids who were so tense and nervous about breaking the rules. She’d always sort of assumed some of Zuko’s quirks and his rigidness were just parts of his personality, but now she realized how much of it might’ve been drilled into him by his upbringing.

_These kids are scared to have fun, and they’re not even Royalty_ , she thought sadly.

Aang seemed to share some of her sympathy. “Oh boy,” he said. “Listen guys, dancing isn't something you think about. It's a form of self-expression that no one can ever take away from you!”

One of the boys from earlier responded, “Maybe it was different in the colonies, Kuzon, but we don't do that here.”

“Sure you do!” Aang just couldn’t let it go, “You have for generations! It just so happens that I know several classic Fire Nation dances. A hundred years ago, this was known as the 'Phoenix Flight'.”

Katara giggled while some of the kids “oohed and aahed” as Aang dropped low to the ground and pranced around. “And, this was the 'Camelephant Strut'.” Aang jumped from side to side and did a roll close to two nearby girls who both giggled. 

She heard Sokka mutter, “..he’s starting to become a little flirt.”

Aang finished the dance with a back flip, landing on one foot to some scattered cheers and applause. Katara, having seen plenty of Aang’s airbender moves, was less surprised at his knack for dancing. Airbending in general seemed like a sort of a dance sometimes. 

“So are these accurate Fire Nation classics?” she asked Zuko.

He shrugged, “I don’t know, Aang wasn’t wrong, dance has become sort of obsolete in the Fire Nation since Sozin’s rule.” She frowned at that.

On the one hand, the Fire Nation had done irreparable damage to the cultural heritage of the other Nations, but it seemed its own people had lost some of their soul in the war. 

Just then, Aang spun through the air, landing in front of a girl. He offered her his hand, and she blushed and accepted it.

_I wonder if that’s the girl he had a crush on_. 

Aang pulled her into the middle of the room. “-and this is how they do it in the ballrooms of Ba Sing Se.” He started tapping his feet from side to side and eventually the girl joined him, hesitantly at first, then faster. 

Sokka nodded like a proud big brother, “They look good together.” Zuko grunted and Katara nodded.

“If you say so,” Toph said.

Eventually some of the other kids began mimicking the movements, and more and more of the students poured forward to join. 

“Yeah, that's it! That's the sound of happy feet!” Aang smiled as the kids started dancing, though rather poorly, “All right, go with that! Everybody freestyle!”

Katara laughed as one of the kids began dancing crazily, limbs swinging wildly and haphazardly. Another student, standing amid a group of non-dancers, started moving his arms reluctantly. Katara saw Zuko in her periphery still tapping his food and lightly swaying his head. She didn’t think he noticed himself doing it. 

“Come on, you guys!” Katara pushed off from the wall. She pushed her brother towards Toph, “You guys go dance! Join the others!” Sokka hurried forward like he’d been waiting for an excuse and Toph followed behind him, blushing a bit.

_Oh_ , Katara catalogued that information for later. 

She turned to Zuko now, already smiling. She silently held her hand out, inviting him to dance.

Zuko looked away nervously. “I don't know, Katara. These shoes aren't really right for dancing, and I-I'm not sure that I know how to-”

She just smiled wider, “Take my hand...You trust me, right?”

Finally, Zuko responded with a soft smile, “Okay.”

His larger hand wrapped around hers, and she tugged them both forward into the center of the floor. 

“How do I start?” he whispered frantically.

“Think of it like bending, sort of like sparring with each other, but without the elements,” she suggested. He smirked a bit, and she thought he was probably imagining the many times they’d fought each other, both seriously and in good faith.

She returned his smirk, mirroring the glint in his eyes, as she bent her knees and held her arms up. He copied her position, and they gazed at each other intently, arms almost touching but not quite, circling each other, then spinning around and circling each other again. 

Katara was reminded of the two spirits, Tui and Lau, circling each other in the Spirit Oasis. _Opposite and equal. Well balanced_. 

After another spin, Zuko leaned forward a bit and whispered “Everyone’s watching us.” And they were, though she hadn’t noticed until then. 

“Don't worry about them,” she responded. She finally closed the gap between them, stepping up and grabbing zuko’s shoulder with one hand, clasping his hand with the other, “It's just you and me right now.” 

Her voice came out huskier than anticipated, and she could swear there was heat echoing off of Zuko in waves. Something burned in her gut, and for a moment she could imagine what it might feel like to be a firebender. 

As one, they began to step back and forth. As she stepped forward, he stepped back and vice versa. On an unspoken cue, Zuko stepped back, dropping his hand from her shoulder and she spun around, hand still in his. 

They stepped back from each other then forward. Back then forward. _Like the tide_ , she thought, grinning. 

Zuko grinned back and put his hands on her waist. She launched her body weight forward, while he lifted, and he spun her around in the air, part way above his head. She laughed as she landed back on the ground, his hands still resting on her waist. 

They kept moving around each other in perfect harmony, and Katara was delighted at how smooth Zuko was in his movement. _It must be his Blue Spirit agility_ she thought. Firebending wasn’t the most graceful kind of bending, but Zuko still managed to move quite fluidly.

Katara could feel the sweat dripping down her back, but she didn’t care. She had no idea how long they’d been dancing. Her face was flushed as the song began to grind to a halt, and with one final spin, Katara let her body fall backwards into a dip, hand in the air as Zuko easily caught her. 

They stayed like that for a moment, both of their chests heaving before, _too soon_ , Zuko pulled her back up to eye level. She wanted to kiss him again so badly, but everyone was watching and-

Adult voices echoed from the mouth of the cave. “Everyone run!” someone shouted. Immediately, the kids all began to scatter, pouring out of the cave in all different directions.

Sokka turned to the remaining Team Avatar as he called them.

“We should probably head out too while we have a distraction!”

They began running towards the back of the cave where Sokka and Zuko had scouted out some tunnels with a back entrance earlier. 

Katara laughed giddily as they ran, feeling free of her inhibitions and drunk off of the adrenaline, the sense of rebellion, and the tension between her and Zuko.

She and Zuko were finally forced to drop each other’s hand as they all clambered up onto Appa. Soon enough they were in the sky once more, breeze cooling them all off. 

“That was some dance party, Aang,” she enthused, leaning forward to give him a quick peck on the cheek. She looked over his shoulder at Zuko and shared a private smile. 

“Yeah, kid,” Zuko said, “you did alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they couldn't ever let Zuko and Katara dance together bc the sheer amount of sexual tension and power couple energy would break the show's rating. 
> 
> Also, here's some amazing Zutara Dance Fanart Content:
> 
> https://beanaroony.tumblr.com/post/168933861890/zutara-month-dancing-i-dont-even-know-what-day


	6. The Poster

Toph woke up late, stretching, enjoying the feel of the ground beneath her. She could feel Zuko and Katara around the campfire where they were probably helping each other make congee for breakfast, while Sokka was stretched out a few feet away, muttering something about directions and maps. A few feet away from him, Aang was brushing Appa and talking to him in a cheery voice. 

Toph got up and plopped herself down beside Zuko and Katara. “Morning,” she grumbled, holding her hands out for a bowl of porridge. She could tell Katara was glaring, but Zuko just snorted and made her a bowl. She thanked him by not punching him. 

Sensing the food was ready, Sokka meandered over next, shortly followed by Aang. They were all relatively quiet as they ate hungrily. Beside her, she felt Zuko reach into his tunic to pull something out which she then heard him shake into his bowl. 

She could tell he was trying to do this stealthily, so she loudly asked, “Whatcha got there, Sparky?”

“It’s a little red packet of something,” Aang said, semi-helpfully. 

“It’s just some seasoning, from the last Fire Nation restaurant we were in,” Zuko clarified.

Katara coughed, “I’m sorry, is my cooking too _bland_ for you?” Toph could hear the challenge in her tone and smiled to herself. She loved it whenever Sugar Queen went off at someone _else_. 

“No! Of course not! I... _love_ your congee, I just….” He faded off, realizing he wasn’t being convincing. Zuko was probably the worst liar Toph had ever met, she never even bothered listening to his heart rate anymore. 

Toph heard Katara mumble something about “spoiled Fire Nation prince,” but there wasn’t any real anger in it. If anything, Toph imagined Katara was smiling and maybe even making eyes at Zuko. 

Toph, being blind for the entirety of her life was not entirely sure what “making eyes at someone” entailed, but she’d heard Sokka use the phrase to complain about Zuko and Katara whenever they weren’t listening. 

“So where are we off to next?” she asked to derail this, addressing Sokka who she could still hear rustling what were likely maps. 

“Well, we’re right by a town here. It might be worth it to stop by and stock up on supplies, we are running a bit low?” He addressed this like a question for the group. 

Katara responded, “We _are_ almost completely out of rice, and it wouldn’t hurt to give Appa some time to rest. We have been to four different islands in as many days.”

“He’s got to be tired!” Aang agreed as Appa’s number one advocate. 

“It’s settled then,” Sokka decided, hopping up. 

Toph suspected he was just excited about the prospect of some fresh meat, but she didn’t mind the idea of walking around the island and stretching her legs after four days mostly spent on the saddle. 

She handed Zuko her dirty breakfast bowl and jumped up cheerfully. “Let’s go!”

* * *

Sokka was the first one to notice.

They were walking towards the main gate into the center of the town when Sokka saw a watering fountain just by the entrance. There were several pieces of paper nailed to the main post. On instinct, Sokka walked over and examined them.

His heart sank when he saw a familiar face staring up at him. Make that _two_ familiar faces. 

There was of course a Wanted poster warning about the “dangerous Avatar”, but they’d already seen those before and it wasn’t too surprising. Besides, by the end of the week Aang’s hair would probably be long enough he could lose the dumb hat. 

What worried Sokka was the familiar faces of General Iroh and Zuko. 

Both were labelled as “Wanted Dead or Alive” for “committing high treason against the Fire Lord and the people of the Fire Nation.” His heart sunk even lower when he saw the considerable gold bounty listed underneath both of their names. 

Katara and Aang sucked in a breath as they both saw the same poster. In the picture, Zuko’s hair was long and grown out like it had been back in Ba Sing Se, and his scar was just as damningly recognizable as ever. 

Sokka turned to Zuko, unsure of what to say. “Sorry” seemed inappropriate. How do you console someone whose father wants them _dead_ or alive?

Katara, of course, put her hand on Zuko's arm, and Aang looked shocked, “How could your father say that?”

“Hello?” Toph grumbled, “Will someone fill me in?”

Sokka opened his mouth, but Zuko responded, voice flat and unreadable, “It’s a Wanted poster of me issued by my father. It says dead or alive and there’s a reward. It also seems like Azula helped them update my likeness...guess there’s no more relying on the new hair.”

“This is bad,” Sokka muttered. 

“Why?” Toph asked, “I mean we already knew Zuko was considered a traitor...No offense..”

Sokka just shook his head thinking it through, “There are at least three or four copies up at the entrance of this town alone, there’s no saying how widely these are being circulated...it doesn’t seem like the Fire Lord is messing around with this,” he didn’t know how to soften the blunt words, but Zuko was still being oddly impassive about it all, “besides, Toph, you don’t know how...he...it...if anyone saw…”

Toph just scrunched her eyebrows at his word vomit, but Sokka didn’t want to tell her just how _huge and obvious and jarring_ Zuko’s scar was right in _front_ of him. 

Sokka still didn’t know the story of how he’d gotten it, though he could sense it was a sensitive subject to say the least. Mentioning Zuko’s scar had become a sort of taboo.

But Zuko said what he was thinking, voice still dull, “What Sokka means is that my scar is a dead-giveaway. Not a lot of people have burn scars covering an entire side of their face.” He said it almost wryly, but Sokka felt nauseous at the reminder of how badly the injury that caused it must have hurt. 

“So what do we do?” Aang wondered, eyes wide. 

Everyone but Toph turned to look at Zuko. His hair was still long in the front and he wore the hood of his cloak which helped shadow his face and hide the scar tissue that extended past his cheek, but in the sunlight, the old wound was still so bright and stark against his pale face.

Sokka didn’t want to say what he knew he had to, but he’d promised to keep them all safe. He’d promised Iroh he’d keep his nephew safe. 

“Buddy, I’m sorry, but...I think maybe you should lay low for a little while,” he looked down at his feet guiltily, “as in no more going into towns with us unless absolutely necessary.”

“Yeah,” Zuko’s voice was a bit rough, but his face was still creepily blank as he turned on his heel, shrugging off Katara’s hand gently, “that makes sense. I’ll uh meet you back at the campsite later.” 

And before anyone could do or say anything else, Zuko had already disappeared back onto the wooded path they’d come in on, leaving behind an uncomfortably tense silence as Katara looked conflicted about whether or not to follow him. 

Sokka just put his own hand on her arm and shook his head. He thought his friend could use some time alone on this one.

Reluctantly, they all entered the town without Zuko. Not even the promise of sizzling meat on a stick could lighten Sokka’s mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WONDER if this will prompt the others to find out the story behind Zuko's scar......


	7. The Confession (Act II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you're hungry for some angst, lads
> 
> slight tw for mentions of ableism and obviously abuse/violence for discussion of how Zuko got his scar..

It was dark by the time they all made it back to their campsite, but they could see the glow of flames and the backlit figure of Zuko sitting in front of the campfire. Momo was sitting in his lap while Zuko pet him gently. 

Sokka didn’t know who was comforting who. 

None of them had wanted to tarry long in the town after Zuko’s Wanted posters had dampened everyone’s mood, but after debating what they needed, gathering all their supplies, then lugging it back across the island, it had ended up taking them the whole day. 

They weren’t quiet as they entered the campsite, but Zuko didn’t move to acknowledge them. Katara looked fiercely concerned, but they were all silent at first as they all helped unload their new supplies. Even Toph made herself useful as she helped pack up some of the food to store in Appa’s saddle bag. 

Katara kept sending Zuko worried glances, but she began pulling out a pot and some rice and vegetables to make a quick dinner. Sokka was starving, but none of them had felt right eating in town without Zuko. 

Sokka normally avoided doing girly chores like cooking, but he’d been somewhat shamed by Zuko who’d sent him confused and judgemental looks whenever he said so out loud. Sokka hated to admit it, but Zuko had seemed to really step up and help Katara with all the chores she used to do alone before Ba Sing Se. 

Sokka felt guilty noticing just how much more happy and relaxed it made Katara to have someone else chip in to help her. It made him feel like a bad brother..

He frowned, musing to himself as he began to fry up some of the fish they’d gotten. It was quiet except for the rustle of the leaves in the trees, the crackle of the campfire, and the scraping of his spatula against the pan as he flipped their trout. 

Finally, the food was ready and everyone took a seat around Zuko, surrounding the campfire in a circle. Sokka scarfed his meal down quickly, shivering slightly as a breeze blew by. Zuko increased the flames just a bit. 

He put his empty plate down and watched his sister watch Zuko who was also being watched by Momo and Aang, and Toph wasn’t  _ watching _ , but she seemed like she was waiting-

“I’m fine, guys” Zuko said, breaking the silence at last. Sokka frowned. He honestly wasn’t sure if his friend was ever truly one hundred percent “fine.”

“Maybe we can find a better disguise for you,” Katara offered weakly. Zuko shrugged, unconvinced. 

“What does it look like?” Toph asked in an uncharacteristically soft and uncertain voice. Sokka looked at Zuko quickly, worried she’d overstepped, but Zuko studied Toph calmly. 

“It’s dark and red,” he said thoughtfully, “though I’m not sure that helps you...uh, it covers my left eye completely and extends past my left ear.” 

Sokka twitched uncomfortably as they broke the unspoken taboo about acknowledging Zuko’s scar out loud. 

Toph tilted her head consideringly at that description, “can you still see out of your left eye?”

_ Oh _ , Sokka had never even considered partial blindness as a possibility, but of course Toph would. 

Zuko stroked Momo’s head softly, considering, “..yes, but...I do have  _ some  _ visibility issues, the lid is permanently slitted...for a while they were sure I’d lose it.” Zuko stared into the fire instead of looking at any of them. 

He frowned. “I also have hearing issues in my left ear,” he continued to stare at the flames and surprised Sokka by letting out a humorless snort, “I don’t think I’ve ever admitted to that before...any kind of physical impairment would be considered shameful weakness in the palace...Azula would pounce on it if she knew the full extent.”

Sokka briefly caught Katara’s eye, and she looked angry on Zuko’s behalf. They had a brief silent conversation.  _ Siblings should protect each other, _ I would never,  _ I would never either _ ….

Sokka turned to Toph who was now quiet, digesting Zuko’s words. He briefly wondered if she’d be hurt by Zuko’s explanation that the Fire Nation was prejudiced against any kind of physical disabilities, but he figured Toph had already experienced enough of that in her own parent’s home in the Earth Kingdom.

Sokka frowned at the unfairness of it.  _ Some prejudices are pretty universal _ , he thought sadly.

Toph stood up and crossed to the other side of the campfire where Zuko and Katara sat. She approached Zuko hesitantly, and then let out a breath before asking, “Can I..Can I try to see it?” She held up her hand, and it seemed like Zuko realized what she meant before Sokka did. 

Zuko shot a brief glance at Katara who just gazed back as they had their own silent conversation, before he turned back to Toph and in an incredibly gentle voice responded, “Yes.”

Zuko gently guided her hand to his cheek. Sokka watched as she let her fingertips glide over the lighter edges, the folds of rough skin below his eye, the edges of dark red where the fire must’ve been the hottest, then trail up his cheekbone to push back his long hair and feel where the knotted skin became his ear. 

Sokka thought she might be done, but she then brought her other hand up to trace the contour of the unburnt side of Zuko’s face. Zuko just continued to watch her, sitting very still, like  _ he  _ was the one who might spook her. 

“Hmmm,” Toph smiled slightly, “you have a pretty decent face, Sparky.” Zuko snorted softly. He did that a lot around Toph. For a moment Sokka could imagine the kind of doting big brother Zuko might’ve been in his past life...still  _ could  _ be if Miss Blue Flame wasn’t so off her rocker…

He looked at his sister, who looked mushy as ever, watching the interaction beside her, and he promised to himself, _ I’m going to be a better brother from here on out...I’ll try to help her, not just protect her _ . 

Toph settled beside Zuko, curling up close enough to benefit from his natural body heat, but still distant enough to give him some space. Zuko was still watching her curiously.

“It must’ve hurt a lot,” Toph said in her normally blunt tone. 

“It did,” Zuko responded, staring back into the flames again. “A  _ lot _ ,” he added so softly Sokka wasn’t sure he even meant to say it. 

Katara was rubbing his arm in a comforting gesture,  _ almost like when Zuko had been petting Momo earlier _ , Sokka thought with a hint of amusement. 

There was a brief moment of silence, just the crackle of the flames, and then Aang of all people broke the tense moment by asking in an extremely sad, open,  _ Aang-like way _ , “How did it happen?”

Sokka couldn’t help but lean forward a bit in anticipation.  _ After all, that was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? _

Zuko looked back at Aang steadily like he’d been expecting the question eventually. He looked at Katara again who nodded in encouragement then sighed, facing Toph, Aang, and Sokka whose curiosity was piqued. 

“It started when I was 13, and I forced my way into a war meeting with my father’s generals,” he looked down at the fire again, unable to maintain eye contact as he continued, “Uncle let me in...he warned me to stay silent, but I...I was stupid, I didn’t listen…”

Katara scoffed, obviously having heard this story before, “ _ You were right! _ -” she said hotly. 

He nodded, like they’d discussed this before, “That may be so, but I should’ve known my father would see the words as a sign of disrespect.”

“Um, sorry to interrupt,” Sokka piped in, “But what exactly did you say?”

Zuko sighed, “right, so there was this general who wanted to put a bunch of new recruits on the front lines as a diversionary tactic to defeat an Earth Kingdom army...he basically wanted to use them as cannon fodder,” Zuko scowled in memory, “And I told him it was wrong...that those soldiers loved their nation, and we couldn’t betray them by sending them to guaranteed death...”

Sokka still had no love for the Fire Nation, but even he could admit he was appalled at that kind of callous strategy. He might be the “Plan Guy” and a pragmatist and strategist at heart, but there were some lines he’d never want to cross in the name of winning. 

Beside him, Aang looked horrified too.  _ Poor little pacifist guy, he can’t even look at meat _ …

“But my father said that by speaking out against the general’s plan, I’d been disrespectful, so he challenged me to an Agni Kai-”

“-A fire duel, sometimes to the death” Aang breathed out, looking shocked, “I heard of them, but I never actually saw one…” he trailed off. Zuko nodded in confirmation. 

“The general was old and somewhat weak...I thought I could take him pretty easily, so I agreed.”

Sokka felt a nervous flutter in his stomach waiting for the shoe to drop. 

“But when I got to the stadium, I turned around and,” for the first time since starting his story, Zuko faltered a bit, but Katara squeezed his arm, and he continued, voice still steady, “it wasn’t the general-”

Sokka sucked in a breath.

“-it was my father.”

_ Shit _ , Sokka thought. 

Sokka tried to imagine his father challenging him to a real fight in front of their entire village. The idea was so implausible it was laughable. 

“I knew I could never take him on, so I tried to ask for forgiveness. I begged not to fight him, but that just made him more angry…” Zuko’s voice didn’t shake, but his shoulders were tensed as he hugged his knees to his chest, “he told me I’d have to fight for my honor,” he closed his eyes as he finished, “that I’d learn respect and  _ suffering  _ would be my teacher...then he leaned down...and he put his hand on my face and...he burned me.”

Zuko opened his eyes and they were hard and distant as he stared into the fire, lost in a memory Sokka didn’t want to imagine anymore. “My  _ father  _ burned half of my face off because I wouldn’t fight him.”

He was staring at Aang now, “That’s why you need to be ready, Aang. He won’t care that you’re just a kid... _ He doesn’t care about anyone but himself _ ,” Sokka finally saw a crack in Zuko’s composure as he spit out the last bit and Katara immediately wrapped her arms around him. 

Sokka looked at Aang. The young boy stood up on shaky legs, took a few steps away from the campfire, then retched underneath a tree. 

On another day, Sokka might’ve made a joke about his own cooking. As it was, he couldn’t blame Aang as his own stomach rebelled in horror at the story he’d just heard. It made him queasy too. It was too terrible, too surreal.

He didn’t want to imagine a young Zuko being hurt by his own father. Zuko, who made him practice calligraphy and dragged him out of bed in the morning and made him try Fire Flakes and who doted on his little sister and backed him up when the others were being illogical. Zuko, his friend. 

_ I can’t believe I ever hated you _ , he thought. 

Aang stumbled back to his spot, face white, still saying nothing. “Zuko, I’m  _ so  _ sorry, I can’t-”

Zuko tried again, “Aang, look at me. I  _ need  _ to know you understand how important it is for you to defeat him.”

Aang nodded slowly, “I..I understand, Zuko.”

Zuko caught Sokka’s eye. “You didn’t deserve that,” Sokka said to his friend quietly. Zuko nodded back. 

Sokka felt like he needed to say more, “I’m glad you’re with us now, Buddy...we won’t let them hurt you anymore, okay?”

Zuko blushed and shrugged, but he didn’t disagree out loud. 

Toph nestled against his side, and Sokka watched as Toph placed her hand on Zuko’s knee and began tapping something out. 

_ It must be that code they were learning _ , Sokka thought. He didn’t know what Toph said to Zuko, but when she pulled her hand back, Zuko looked down at her blushing even more with a tender look on his face, “Thank you, Toph,” he mumbled, seemingly leaning back into her too. 

Sokka now felt more determined than ever to defeat Ozai once and for all. They’d never let that bastard hurt anyone ever again. And Sokka wouldn’t let him hurt Zuko again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 guesses for what Toph said to Zuko in Morse Code


	8. The Plan

Katara sighed, leaning back in the saddle against Zuko’s arm. They were all on Appa’s back as he slogged his way down the course of a sludge-infested river. Katara felt sickened by the greenish color of the water below. She’d never seen her element so corrupted. 

Zuko told them this was the Jang Hui River. 

“How do you know?” Sokka complained, frustrated that Zuko knew more about geography than he did. “It’s not on the map!’

Zuko just tapped his head, “Royal Fire Nation tutors, remember?” he exchanged a smirk with Katara as Sokka spluttered indignantly about his own superior map-reading abilities, but Zuko interrupted, “don’t worry, Sokka, I only know the name of this river because it’s the location of a large metal output factory for the army.”

Katara frowned, “Is that why the river’s so.. _gross_?”

Zuko just shrugged and nodded, also frowning, “Yeah...I guess so.” He looked uncomfortable at the idea of the factory causing this much pollution. She guessed his _royal tutors_ never talked about that particular aspect of Fire Nation industrialization.

She heard a splash and looked down in disgust at Aang and Momo who were frolicking in the putrescent water.

Aang called out, “Momo! Oh Momo! Hahahahaha! You found me, buddy!” The boy airbended back up to Appa's saddle, where he stood dripping in sludge.

“Hey guys, I think this river's polluted.”

“No kidding,” Zuko snorted.

Aang started to shake the sludge off like a dog, getting the rest of them covered in specks of it.

“Aang!!” Katara cried, trying to waterbend it away from her. 

Toph wasn’t so lucky. “Pah! Plegh!” cried, spitting mud out. Aang airbended again, blowing the rest of the mud back into the river, but messing up their hair in the process. Zuko growled, trying to flatten his fringe. 

“Well that explains why I can't catch a fish around here, because normally my fishing skills are off the hook!” Sokka grinned and held up his fishing rod, “Get it? Like a fishing hook?” His face lit up at his own dumb joke. 

“Too bad your skills aren't _on_ the hook,” Toph countered. Katara and Aang laughed as Sokka pouted, and Zuko stuck his fist out to Toph who bumped it casually. 

Suddenly though, Katara’s stomach growled. “It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food.”

Aang perked up, “Hey, maybe we can get food there!” They all turned to look where he pointed at a village in the middle of a river. 

Zuko sighed, “Ok, pull over there, I’ll hide Appa.”

They all got off onto the bank of the river, and the others started heading towards the docks.

Katara gave Zuko a quick peck on the cheek which seemed to improve his mood considerably.

* * *

They’d made camp on the same bank they’d left Zuko and Appa earlier. 

Katara, Toph, and Zuko had found a way to get them some potable water. She and Aang had gathered up a barrel of the polluted water. Katara lifted the water with waterbending, then Toph separated the pollutants from the water with earthbending, and finally Katara passed the water to Zuko who helped boil it in a large cooking pot. 

Katara was telling Zuko about the village as they worked, “It was _bad_ , Zuko. Almost everyone was sick...apparently the soldiers have been monopolizing all their medicine and resources! Not to mention the town was a _fishing_ village, but now that the river is so polluted, there are no fish left! And the fish that are left are, well….”

She wrinkled her nose and gestured towards the two-headed fish Sokka had proudly bought. 

“Yeahhh, that makes Aang’s vegetarianism seem more appealing,” Zuko muttered as Katara nodded. 

Toph shrugged and went to go poke at said fish with Sokka. 

“Exactly! It’s a vicious cycle! They’re getting sick because of the contaminants in the river, and then they can’t even heal themselves because the army is stealing from them!” She was practically vibrating with anger now. 

“I just wish there was something I could _do_!” she lamented in frustration. “Sokka thinks I’m overreacting, but these people need _help_ , Zuko! I can’t just turn my back on people who so obviously need help!!”

He stood up and took her hand, “Hey, hey, it’s okay-”

Katara groaned, “Please don’t tell me to calm down too-”

“No, I wasn’t going to! I was going to say I think you’re right!” Zuko whispered. 

Katara gaped, “What? Really?” She glanced back over at Sokka who stood on the other side of the campfire, now whispering back, “You _do_?”

“Of course,” he blushed a bit, “I mean these _are_ my people. I may not be heir to the crown anymore, but I still have a duty to help my people when they’re hurting.”

Katara felt a ridiculous surge of affection for the boy in front of her. _Finally, someone who gets it_ , she thought. 

“So what do we do?” she wondered. 

He gazed off into the distance at the outline of the factory roof in the distance. 

“I have an idea,” he looked back at her with a playful glint in his eye, “But we’ll have to be stealthy…”

Katara just smiled back before they leaned towards each other and began to form the outlines of a plan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sort of a short filler chapter, but get ready for some good old fashioned stealth vigilante power couple Zutara...
> 
> Also to those who guessed on the last chapter, Toph told Zuko "I love you" in morse code, because that's what his mother used to say to him and the first phrase Toph ever listened to Zuko tap out back in an early chapter of "like rum on the fire." 
> 
> It might seem a bit ooc, but I think Toph and Zuko would both be OK making big statements like that as long as they're not out loud, because there's a bit more plausible deniability. I think to both of them, tapping it out is a way of "showing" love for someone which is easier than saying it vocally. I mean it's already sort of canon that arm punches/physical touch is Toph's love language and acts of service are Zuko's, so I think the morse code communication is a nice "in-between" for both of them.


	9. The Vigilantes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The awesome fanart that definitely helped inspire this:  
> https://nymre.tumblr.com/post/122621576275/painted-lady-and-the-blue-spirit-drawn-for

Katara couldn’t believe quite how gracefully Zuko moved as the Blue Spirit. There were moments where, had she not seen the bright blue of his mask or felt the heat of his body, he might’ve become one with the shadows around him. 

She supposed she shouldn’t be so surprised. She’d heard of his one-man siege of Pohuai Stronghold, and she’d witnessed first hand his fluidity on the dancefloor.

She wouldn’t be forgetting _that_ evening anytime soon. And probably not this one. 

The memory and the adrenaline made her heart flutter rapidly as they approached the factory. 

Zuko signalled to her, and she ran to duck behind a boulder near the factory docks, where a number of wooden boxes were being brought in on some small metal boats. 

They couldn’t have hoped for a better situation. 

She summoned several waves to push back against the incoming boats, forcing them slowly backwards. 

There were some indistinct calls and muttering from the soldiers on the two boats, but eventually they gave in and shifted course to pull into the docking site closest to the Blue Spirit. 

She waited until they’d tied themselves to the dock and begun to step out, seemingly not in a rush to unload the heavy cargo yet. 

She saw the outlines of Zuko’s body as the boy slipped behind the conversing soldiers silently and with only a small _shink_ of his dao blades, cut the ropes now mooring the two boats. 

The guards, not yet having noticed this, began to walk towards the edge of the dock, into the lantern light, possibly to get more help to unload the cargo. 

They never made it that far. 

There was a flash of blue, and then both guards were on the ground, unconscious. Katara moved forward to unfasten the cut ropes from the boats and tossed them to Zuko who caught them and quickly began to bound and gag the two knocked out guards. He pulled them off behind a boulder, out of view of the factory’s patrol. 

Meanwhile, Katara began moving the boats with her bending. There was some kind of engine on the back, but they couldn’t call any attention to themselves, with the noise, so she’d have to manipulate the boats herself. She began to do so, not flinching when the Blue Spirit landed next to her in the boat, only jostling it a little bit. 

She caught a flash of yellow behind the deepset eyes of the mask and with a small smirk of satisfaction she lifted her arms and sent both boats rocketing forward across the lake towards the town. 

* * *

When they got to the town’s dock, she tied the boats down while Zuko began unloading the boxes and opening them. As they’d expected, inside was more than a week’s supply of food rations to feed an entire workforce of conscripted soldiers...or in this case a small town of villagers. 

They began working together in silent unison, divvying up rations into equal portions then placing them in parcels to distribute to every household. Zuko as the Blue Spirit began slipping throughout the whole village undetected, leaving the food at every door.

Meanwhile, the Painted Lady took the leftovers to Xu’s stand in the town’s center. After that, she drifted towards the healing hut she’d noticed earlier.

She eased the door open and saw an alarming number of villagers resting fitfully on pallets across the floor. 

She crouched down at the first bedroll, hands already at her waist near her bending water. She looked over the patient, a young girl not that much younger than herself. The skin around the girl’s eyes was extremely red and inflamed. She ever so lightly placed a glowing touch to the girl’s brow and above her eyelids. 

She felt something _foreign_ , some kind of invading matter in the girl’s system. _Trachoma_ , Yugoda’s voice supplied felpfully. _Infection_ . _Treatable_. 

She felt and watched as the girl’s swelling faded and the deep red in the corner of her eye faded back to white. 

The girl’s eyelids fluttered before she groaned in relief and rolled over, falling into what seemed like a more restful sleep. 

The Painted Lady smiled down at her and silently moved on to the next palette. 

* * *

The Blue Spirit had finished delivering supplies to all the houses in the village. Now, he simply had to wait for the Painted Lady to do her work and the mission would be complete.

Out of curiosity, he drifted to the healing hut where he knew he’d find her. He didn’t want to interrupt her or add a less explainable presence, but he peaked through a slat in the wood to watch her work. 

She looked breathtakingly beautiful as she drifted, like her feet barely touched the floor, from person to person. Again and again, he watched her hands, emit a familiar glow, and again and again, he heard unconscious sighs of relief as the villagers’ maladies were healed. 

They’d chalk these healings up to a spirit miracle. Watching the Painted Lady work, Zuko couldn’t help but think she _was_ rather miraculous. 

For a brief moment, Zuko let himself feel envious of being able to bend an element that could _heal_ , not just hurt. 

Sozin’s style of firebending was all about aggression and punishing force, and Zuko had never been able to fully embody that bending philosophy like his sister could. Of course, this had been chalked up to him being weak, but as he watched Katara work, he couldn’t help but feel just how powerful her bending was when it came from a place of compassion. 

_She’s amazing_ , he thought, watching her veil trail behind her as she approached the final bed. 

As Katara went to stand, the small boy opened an eye, but Katara didn’t seem to notice as she quietly began to exit the hut. The boy just as quietly stood up to follow, and Zuko tensed, ready to move if something bad happened, but he relaxed as the boy just ran after her and called out in a small voice, “Thank you, Painted Lady.”

He saw Katara pause slightly before drifting forward back towards the docks they’d come from. Zuko waited for the child to head back inside before slinking out of the shadows to follow her. 

Wordlessly, they hopped on one of the boats and began moving back towards their campsite.

Once they were almost to the bank, Katara slowed the pace of the boat. He turned to her curiously. 

She scooted closer so they were knee to knee. He couldn’t help but admire the way her blue eyes popped against the red paint. She looked every bit the fierce avenging warrior but also soft, mystical healer she was. 

Her hand reached out and slowly pulled his mask down. She gazed at him intently, though he had no idea what she saw or was really thinking. 

But then it didn’t really matter as she leaned forward so the wide brim of her hat covered both of them and he tilted his head back to meet her lips. The kiss was soft and undemanding like the lapping of the water against their stolen boat as the edges of her veil tickled the back of her neck. 

They kissed for a few moments before Zuko felt a familiar tug in his gut. On the horizon, the night sky was growing pinker. Soon enough, it would be dawn. He told Katara as much. 

“Just a _few_ more minutes before we have to join the others again,” she bargained. 

He accepted this as a fair deal and wrapped his arms around her waist as she did the same to his shoulders and they held each other close, enjoying the surreal moments before reality kicked back in and they were the only two people in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in canon, their alter egos, wearing each other's colors, he literally is a water spirit and she is a fire nation spirit...who'd do this on a show whose entire thesis is the importance of balance and then NOT make them canon after this narrative parallel. Tui and La, Sun and Moon, yin and yang, fire and water, oh my god, there were sooo many things going for them


	10. The Factory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the longest wait for an update so far, but I have a full swing summer job now, so ://

Sokka hummed to himself as they walked across the boards leading to the village’s small center where “Xu’s” stand was. 

Aang was frowning and still talking about how he hoped Appa felt better soon. Toph, surprisingly, was the one to offer a bit of comfort, but his sister and Zuko were noticeably quiet. 

Katara, citing some sudden inspiration, had the idea to try disguising Zuko’s scar with bandages. Sokka wasn’t too sure about them not just attracting more attention to his friend’s facial injury, but he also knew this town was low risk and the poor guy was getting restless hanging back at the campsite every day.

Sokka thought if they didn’t start getting him out more he might go rogue and do something reckless and _Zuko-esque_ (a term he’d coined himself). 

“-and I hope it’s nothing that’ll cause any long lasting damage,” the young boy worried, and Katara finally put her hand on his shoulder, “I’m sure he’ll be just fine in a day or two.” 

She shared a _look_ with Zuko while Sokka just groaned at the reminder of his _ruined_ schedule. 

Finally, they reached the shopfront from the day before. He leaned against the counter, “Hi, Dock. Is Xu around?” He felt his sister send him a look, but he still humored the wacky old man who insisted he was two different people. 

Said man jumped up, “Let me check!” He ran around the shop counter and ducked beneath the counter before popping back up with a different hat, “Hey there! Back again, are ya?”

Sokka almost let out a chuckle before Toph pushed him out of the way. He scowled at her and rubbed his arm where she’d elbowed him. 

“We need more food.” She slammed the money on the counter. “Our friend is still sick and we can't leave until he's better.”

Xu obligingly presented them with a platter of polluted clams. Sokka’s hunger warred with his nausea at the sight of the seafood. 

The old man responded to Toph, “Oh, well, that's too bad. Maybe if you guys are lucky, the Painted Lady will visit you in the night, and heal your friend!”

Sokka picked up a clam to examine it and barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes, “And maybe she'll cook us a midnight snack, and we'll all have a sing-along.”

Sokka’s biggest pet peeve was people waiting for magic and fairy tales to solve real world problems. 

But Xu didn’t seem to pick up on his sarcasm and annoyance, “Yeah, maybe! You know, last night she visited us again. Healed most of our sick folks.” The man grinned, showing off his rather crooked teeth in a large grin. 

Sokka frowned at the depth of this man’s delusions. 

Aang chimed in, “Is that why this place seems so festive?”

Sokka pulled his head back and glanced around. _Huh_. He watched as the villagers raised a large statue of the Painted Lady in the town square while everyone else cheered and applauded.

“Yep, it's all because of the Painted Lady,” Dock or Xu or whatever said proudly. 

Sokka stood up straight, thoughts now spinning. Zuko had told them the Painted Lady was a popular Fire Nation patron spirit, but these people seemed convinced she was their recent savior, almost like they had some kind of proof...

Katara’s familiar voice finally piped up, sounding oddly chipper and vaguely self-satisfied, “Can you believe how much an entire village can be affected by one lady-” she waved her hand, “I mean... spirit?”

He just frowned at her sister. He recalled her disguise as the Painted Lady back when they’d needed a diversion to save Zuko from that Fire Nation ship... _was it possible?_ .... _She wouldn’t_...

He’d have to investigate further. For now he scoffed. 

“Well, I hope she returns every night. Otherwise this place would go right back to the way it was.”

Zuko, who was still being very quiet frowned and looked away, but Katara huffed in annoyance, turning on him. 

“Why would you say that? Look how much better off these people are!” She gestured around towards the happy villagers. 

He loved his sister, but she was _so_ naive sometimes. 

“Yeah, _now_ , but without her they wouldn't be able to fend for themselves. If she really wanted to help, she would use her spirit magic to blow up that factory.” He made a mocking gesture to indicate explosive spirit magic then crossed his arms with a smile as Katara’s face turned red. 

Aang crossed his arms and Sokka thought he’d take her side _as usual_ , “Spirit magic doesn't work that way, Sokka-” he prepared to retort, but Aang went on, “It's more like…” He began to wave his body with his arms in the air making similar gestures to indicate spirit magic. Sokka chuckled and wrapped an arm over Aang’s shoulder as they both combined their imitations, getting increasingly ridiculous, “WoooOOOoooo,” they moaned, giggling. 

Katara stormed away from them, dragging Zuko by the elbow as she passed him, leading him away towards the docks. They both faced out towards the factory and had a private conversation. Sokka wished he had Toph’s super hearing, but his suspicions were mounting regardless. 

They were hiding something. And for once, the secret wasn’t _them_. 

He’d be keeping an eye on those two tonight.

* * *

Sokka’s eyes popped open at the sound of Momo chittering. He’d been feigning sleep for about half an hour now, waiting to see if _something_ would happen in the campsite. 

It was what he’d been expecting, but he still scowled as he sat up to look over at Katara’s sleeping bag. He crawled over and pulled the top blanket back to reveal a large clump of grass piled to fill it up. 

He stood stock still as he heard a rustle and turned just in time to see the edge of a red cloak disappear behind a nearby boulder. He hurried over as quietly as he could not bothering to turn around and check the other sleeping bags. 

He followed her past a series of boulders and to the farside of the hill. He scowled as he recognized Katara’s familiar Painted Lady disguise from behind. But he bit back his annoyance for later. 

“Painted Lady! Is that you?” he called out, feigning ignorance for now. The moniker made his sister pause and a few moments later he caught up to her beneath the shadow of a rocky outcropping on the hill. 

“Uhh, hello...citizen,” Katara’s fake gruff voice was a whole new level of insulting to Sokka’s intelligence and he angrily ripped her hat off.

“Hey!” she cried, voice back to its normal pitch. She just sighed as she caught his disappointed gaze. 

“Why, Katara? You’re putting all of our identities as risk...” he frowned. 

She at least looked guilty about that but gave him a pleading look. “Sokka, I needed to help these people! I can’t just watch people hurting and _not_ do something to stop it, and...they’re not bad people, I mean it’s like Zuko said-”

“Zuko?” Sokka scowled at the double betrayal, “He’s in on this too?”

“Uh...no?” Sokka threw his hands in the air. _Honestly, Katara and Zuko were the worst liars he’d ever met_ . _They truly deserved each other._

“Is Appa even sick!?” She bowed her head.

“We just fed him some berries…”

Sokka was finally at a loss for words. He’d worked so hard to make a plan, a schedule, to try to keep them all safe and on mission, so they could, _you know, save the whole world._ And he hated the way that Zuko being in on it made his sense of betrayal sharpen.

_His_ sister and _his_ best friend. 

It stung. 

“And what are you doing now? Are you going to go back and threaten to blow our cover again to heal some people who’ll just get sick again?”

“No, Sokka you were right, what you said earlier..” she paused looked back towards the factory, “We need to help them make a permanent change.”

He gaped, “You’re not....What I said before...That was a _joke_ , Katara! You can’t just go blow up a factory!”

“Why not?” It sounded ridiculously like a pout. 

“Well for one thing who do you think a whole garrison of angry vengeful Fire Nation soldiers will blame it on?” he cried, desperate for her to stop and think this through. 

A new voice startled him, and he turned to see a figure drift out of the shadows silently. 

“The Blue Spirit.”

“Zuko!” he cried, knowing that’s the only person it could be, but never having actually seen Zuko in his Blue Spirit guise, he was still on edge looking at the creepy mask. 

Thankfully, the boy pulled the mask off and stared at him with beseeching gold eyes. He knew a matching pair of wide blue eyes were watching him from behind.

They really were ganging up on him here. 

“Sokka, I know you think this is crazy, but Katara is right...these people are innocent. And we can help prevent them from suffering further if we play our cards right,” Sokka locked eyes with his friend as a tense silence held them both in place, “ _Please_ , Sokka. We’re just trying to do the right thing...and with your help and strategizing abilities we can do it so much more effectively!”

Sokka tried not to preen under the compliment. He frowned, staring down Zuko, then turned to stare down Katara.

Then, finally, he threw his head to look up at the night sky in exasperation. 

“Spirits, help me,” he muttered. 

He turned back to Zuko and Katara, “Walk me through what you two idiots have planned so far.”

  
  


* * *

Zuko had to admit he was glad Sokka was now in on their plan. He didn't like feeling like he was betraying one of his closest (and only) friends. Not to mention he really was the self-proclaimed Plan Guy for a reason. Zuko hadn't been bluffing when he'd complimented Sokka's knack for strategy.

He appreciated it now as the three of them huddled over a patch of dirt as Zuko and Sokka handed the stick back and forth, drawing out their plans. Finally feeling satisfied, they all went their separate ways to implement the first part of the plan. 

Zuko pulled his mask back up, easily falling into the rhythm of being the Blue Spirit. It was and had always been a comfortable second skin for him. 

He approached the factory like he had the night before with Katara. He knew he could easily slip past the night guards posted out front of the entrance, but for their plan to work, he needed to be seen. He walked up slowly, directly into their line of vision. 

Both guards shouted and drew towards him. "The Blue Spirit!" the taller one growled in recognition as Zuko stepped forward calmly. He crouched down in what Zuko recognized as a firebending stance, while the other pulled out a sword. Through the slits of his mask, Zuko saw the familiar light of fire whip heading towards him, but he quickly spun around, pulling the bucket hidden behind his back out and flinging the water in an arc to meet the fire and extinguish it like he'd done so long ago when breaking Aang out of Pohuai Stronghold. 

He used the steam now rising upwards as a perfect distraction to go on the attack and with a few swift blows, the largest threat was neutralized. He pulled his Dao swords out, turning to the weaker, shaking guard who timidly held his sword up. 

Zuko almost pitied the man. His stance was sloppy, and he probably hadn't ever expected to see real combat if this was his assignment. 

Still, his pity didn't stop him from knocking the guard unconscious with a swift blow to the head with the butt of his right hand sword. Not wasting time, he moved to tie the tow men together and left them far enough away that they wouldn't be harmed when the factory was destroyed, but close enough they'd be easily found. 

Only slightly winded from dragging two full grown men, the Blue Spirit now easily slunk his way into the now undefended and empty factory. Condensation gathered inside his mask as a wave of the heat inside hit his face. 

He scaled a metal rig, searching.

Finally, his eyes found what they'd been looking for. A bright red sign warned about the presence of flammable gas. 

_Bingo_.


	11. The Lava

Katara, Sokka, and the others were now out under the cover of night in the middle of the river on the two Fire Nation boats she and Zuko had taken the night before. 

They’d woken up Toph and Aang and Sokka had helped her explain the situation to them both. They were both a bit annoyed at first, but eventually came around. 

Aang was mostly relieved Appa was okay, and Toph had mainly been disgruntled over being woken up in the middle of the night. 

At Sokka’s instruction, Toph helped earthbend a ginormous vat in the middle of the river that stuck out of it like a fairly big island, except it was shaped like a bowl. 

Then, she and Toph began practicing the water cleaning treatment they’d figured out at the campsite. 

Combining the power of their water and earthbending, they separated the contaminants from the water. With Aang’s help earthbending, the process went much faster than expected. 

The large bowl was slowly filling up with gunk from the river which was imperceptibly clearing up. 

They didn’t have Zuko to boil newly cleaned water, but that was okay for water that wouldn’t be drunk immediately. 

Thinking about Zuko made her turn her head towards the factory. She knew he could take care of himself, but of course she still worried about him. She couldn’t stop herself if she tried. 

Sighing, she turned back to their work, but all of a sudden all of their heads were turned by the sound of a large explosion. She turned and was nearly blinded by the cloud of fire that branded the dark sky. 

_It’s part of the plan. It’s part of the plan. It’s part of the plan._

She had to repeat this to herself over and over again. Still, she turned to Sokka. “Let’s go check on Zuko, okay?” 

Sokka nodded solemnly, looking at the remnants of the large explosion. It was one thing to plan a risky move, another to know your friend was currently putting his life on the line. 

Sokka turned to Toph and Aang and asked them to keep working, Aang taking over Katara’s water bending. They both nodded, doubling back down on their work, determined to rid the river of the majority of its gunk before they left. 

Katara used her bending to propel her and Sokka’s boat and send it hurtling towards the direction of the factory and the recent explosion. 

_Please be okay. Please be okay._

They reached the meet up point on the bank that they’d set with Zuko and Katara immediately jumped from the boat and began running. 

* * *

  
  


Zuko had known he’d need to get the timing right. 

After identifying an appropriately flammable source of combustion to trigger an explosion big enough to cripple the factory’s systems, he slunk back towards the easiest exit. He’d then turned around, squinted, lining up his shot, and aimed one well placed fireball soaring towards the gas tank.

And then he ran like hell. 

Even as he flung himself out into the cold night air, he could feel the impact of the explosion in his bones as it sent him flying forward, landing him on his knees in the nearby grass. 

He stayed down for a moment, taking inventory of all possible injuries. Aside from feeling a bit scratched up and bruised, he felt fine. Though the heat prickling at his back was a bit uncomfortable. There were also bits of debris a few yards from him, but luckily nothing had gotten to him. 

He had a flashback to the time Zhao had tried to have him murdered on his own ship and recalled the panic he’d felt as the impenetrable wave of heat and flame had come rushing towards him, and he’d been able to save himself with nothing more than pure instinct, fueled by the panic of seeing flame head towards his face and thinking _not again, not again, not again_. 

He shivered at the memory of the close encounter and brought himself to his feet. He turned around to survey his damage. 

He smirked. The factory’s infrastructure would definitely not be salvageable after _that_. 

Though his smile dropped when he noticed something oozing towards him slowly. 

Was that... _lava_?

He hadn’t noticed it when he’d been inside, but they must’ve had channels or vats of it used in the metal smelting process. It must’ve been covered, but he should’ve felt that. He should’ve known better. 

_Oh Agni_ , he thought, _What’ve I done? I’m an idiot. I’ve ruined everything. Sokka should’ve let Katara handle this._

A good portion of the lava flowed downward towards the empty docks, destroying everything in its path before finally hitting the water, causing mass amounts of steam to rise. Luckily, it seemed to harden as it hit the cool water, and Zuko thanked all the spirits he knew of. 

Unfortunately, there was another massive channel of lava flowing towards him and the grassy hills beside the factory. Eventually, it would hit the guards he’d left bound, then their campsite, and then, eventually some of the sparse settlements and houses in the valley beside the river bank. 

Unless he stopped it somehow. 

_I can’t let anyone get hurt. These are_ my people. _I have to protect them_ , he thought wildly. 

His eternal flame was burning painfully, partly in anger at himself, but mostly with his need to _protect_ and _defend_. 

He felt some kind of instinct take over, felt the peace of a somehow familiar presence fill his mind and soul, and he crouched down with his hands in the air. 

He closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and concentrated on feeling the heat of the molten earth flowing towards him. He mimicked the ways he’d seen Toph earthbending, the firm stance, the fists at his side. 

He took a deep breath, connecting his inner flame to the external heat, then pulled his fists backwards sharply, as if pulling the heat from the molten earth itself, then felt the most tremendous tug in his gut he’d ever felt. 

Without meaning to, he let out a hoarse scream and felt himself land on his knees. He thought he heard someone call out his name, but all he saw was a mountain of hard, volcanic rock, frozen in place before the black spots became too numerous and his vision faded completely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible Roku-intervention? Zuko possibly discovering a new more powerful source for his bending? Zuko somewhat unlocking the unlimited potential of crossbending and building on the connections between all four elements like Iroh taught him? Which is also sort of foreshadowing of him reuniting all four nations later on in the show? Which is why in the show he and the Avatar have so many parallels?


	12. The Fortune

Katara felt a stitch in her side as she sprinted up the grassy knoll, looking for Zuko on the other side. Her feet fell even faster as she ran up in time to see a heavy stream of magma flowing past the debris of the explosion at the edges of the now ruined factory.

And standing in front of that unstoppable force was Zuko. With his Blue Spirit mask on, she couldn’t see his expression, but he was crouched down in a stance that reminded her of Aang and Toph when they practiced their earthbending moves. 

She was running towards him and cried, “Zuko!” right before he let out a hoarse yell, and she came up short, eyes widening as she watched the onslaught of lava slow and freeze, then pile up on itself, freezing like a giant black rock avalanche just a few feet from where Zuko was kneeling.

Then she saw him slide down to the ground and she was running again. 

She was at his side in no time, and she expertly began to scan his body for any obvious signs of injury. She took his mask off and examined his face, tilting his chin back and forth gently. He seemed fine aside from a few bruises and scrapes that she healed within seconds. 

Already his eyes were fluttering and he stared up at her in a daze. 

“K-Katara?”

She leaned down and kissed him in response. Before pulling back quickly. She could hear Sokka’s huffs from where he’d followed after her now cresting the hill. Soon he was at their side as well. 

“What-” he wheezed “-happened?

“Zuko’s okay,” she explained, “He just fainted-”

“Hey-” Zuko protested, blushing.

“He  _ briefly lost consciousness _ ,” she amended “after doing well...whatever that was...” she gestured towards the frozen lava rock mountain shading them from the now rising sun.

“Tui and Lau,” Sokka muttered, “ _ He _ did that?” he gaped at Katara, “ _ You _ did that?” he asked Zuko this time. 

The prince just shrugged weakly, sitting up on his elbows also examining the cooled lava mass.

“I mean..How? What? Why?” Sokka paced a bit landing back at his first question, “How?”

Zuko looked at Sokka then met Katara’s gaze. She was also curious. 

“I just sort of...took all the heat out of the lava.”

Sokka muttered under his breath something that sounded like “damn benders inventing new damn bending.”

Katara wanted to understand. “So you just leeched it out, all of it?”

He nodded thoughtfully, “I knew I had to protect the people in the neighboring valley, and my inner flame somehow connected to the inner flame or heat and energy in the lava, and I sort of felt a..a presence, and I knew what to do, and I….I just did it..”

Katara digested this while Sokka finally stopped pacing and crouched down by them, “He  _ just did it _ ..” he rolled his eyes then looked at Katara, “Is lava even an element? Is lavabending a  _ thing _ ? And wouldn’t it be more like earth than fire? Did Zuko just earthbend? Are we traveling with  _ two  _ Avatars because I cannot handle double the Avatar-”

Katara cut off her brother’s rambling and helped Zuko to his feet. “Maybe Aang will have some more information. For now, we better get Toph and Aang, finish cleaning up the river as best we can then get out of here.”

Sokka nodded, sobered up by the reminder of his new schedule. 

They ended up dropping Zuko off at the campsite. Katara had claimed it was so he could start packing but really it was because he looked sort of dead on his feet, and she thought he needed the rest. 

She watched him get licked by Appa while standing on their boat before she and Sokka started towards the center of the river. 

Sokka followed her gaze and together they watched the diminishing figure of Zuko on the shoreline. 

“Sometimes I forget Zuko’s such a powerful bender,” her brother said thoughtfully.

“What’d you say?” Katara blushed recalling a semi-forgotten conversation with one fortune telling Aunt Wu. 

“Sometimes I forget because he’s so good at swords and he’s really just a grumpy, awkward turtleduck who’s bad at small talk, but Zuko’s a really powerful bender,” Sokka explained casually.

_ “I feel a great romance for you. The man you are going to marry...I can see that he's a very powerful bender.” _

Katara’s blush deepened as she recalled these words. There was a point back at Makapu Village, when Sokka had said something similar about Aang and for a moment she considered the possibility of her and Aang…

But now, she knew for certain she only had a sisterly (and sometimes, she’d admit, motherly) affection for the young boy. 

_ But that didn’t mean _ , she thought,  _ that it won’t still come true. _

She briefly indulged herself in a daydream of what it would be like to marry Zuko.

_ One day when the war was over and they didn’t have to be on the run all the time, maybe they could finally figure out what they were to each other, could settle down, could finally _ …

She just blushed deeper than ever. 

In that moment she was sincerely glad her brother was not a mind reader. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Me seeing/remembering Kataang moments*  
> "What if we just...made it Zutara instead?"


	13. The Meteor

They had just finished setting up their new campsite on one of the easternmost islands of the Fire Nation, but still west of Jang Hui. Zuko had napped on and off all day while they flew in Appa’s saddle trying to recover his energy from...well whatever it was he had done earlier.

He’d have to remember to ask Aang about the potentials of bending and lava later. 

For now, the younger boy was just as exhausted as he was after spending all night and half of the day helping Toph decontaminate the Jang Hui river by hand. 

It was getting dark out, so Zuko lit a campfire and offered to cook the last of the fish they’d gotten at Xu’s shop earlier. It was a bad catch, but Zuko had hoarded enough spices and gotten Toph to smuggle enough back for him from towns that he felt comfortable he could make it edible. 

Next to him, Katara began preparing some rice and he enjoyed their familiar rhythm and the comfortable, peaceful silence that enveloped them, only interrupted by the sound of the crackling kindling and the wind. 

Everyone was tired, and dinner was a quiet affair. Even Sokka was relatively silent as he scarfed down his meal. 

At least until he perked up and cried out, “Look over there!”

All of them except Toph swiveled their heads in the direction he pointed, but Zuko saw nothing. Katara frowned, “See what?”

But as she spoke there was a streak of light, burning across the dark navy of the cloudless night sky. Zuko’s good eye widened as more streaks began to appear. 

“It’s beautiful,” he breathed. 

All across the sky bits of light began to rain down before fading away quickly as if they’d never even been there to begin with. 

He was tempted to take Katara’s hand, but he thought that might be too cheesy. Mai had never liked it that much when he’d done cheesy romantic things with her, but he was just glad Katara was there beside him to enjoy the sight as well.

“What is it?” Toph asked impatiently. 

“It’s a meteor shower!” Sokka was now on his feet, all his previous tiredness burned away with excitement. 

“Wow!” Aang was also bouncing on his feet as more and more meteors streaked across the sky. “Let’s go over there, where we can see it better!”

They all obliged, following after Aang, even Toph who looked mildly put-out. 

Zuko tried to distract her by messing up her hair and letting her punch his arm.

They all laid down on a slight incline in the dirt. “At least it’s comfy,” Toph muttered. 

Zuko made sure he was next to Katara and kept stealing glances at her.

Her blue eyes were wide and sparkling with wonder that made her look even more beautiful than she always did. 

“Wow, this is amazing to watch,” she sighed contentedly. 

She tilted her head and caught Zuko watching her, so she smirked and grabbed his hand where it sat in between them. Zuko didn’t think anyone could see or was paying attention, so he tightened his grasp happily. 

On her other side, Sokka was talking, “Kind of makes you realize how insignificant we are.”

Zuko was about to attempt to make a joke about how _he_ was the only one who was allowed to have existential crises in this group, but Toph beat him to responding.

“Eh, you've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times.”

Zuko snorted in amusement. He always got a kick out of Toph’s blunt and dry sense of humour. 

Though they were all distracted by a particularly bright meteor that seemed to be growing larger and larger and-

They all gasped and Zuko felt Sokka jump to his feet once more, “ _Oh man_ , you've _never_ not seen anything like this. Zuko and the others also scrabbled to their feet to watch, eyes wide. Even Momo stood up on Aang’s shoulders for a better look. 

The meteor was burning bright with blue flames that vaguely reminded Zuko of his sister’s fire. It hurtled past them over their heads, low to the ground. It cut so close, even Appa groaned and watched.

Zuko flinched lightly as they heard and saw it crash nearby. Zuko internally groaned, he’d had enough explosions for one week.

Toph, who couldn’t miss the impact, began scaling up the hill while the others exchanged concerned glances. 

“We better go check it out,” Zuko said grimly.

* * *

Sokka leaned over the side of Appa’s saddle as they all took in the collision site, now covered in a raging inferno of flames. 

Next to him, Katara cried out, “The fire is gonna destroy that town!”

“Not if we can stop it!” Aang said as Appa landed and everyone but Katara jumped off.

Sokka watched his little sister move to take Appa’s reins. “There's a creek over here!” she called from the bison’s head, “ I'll bend the water onto the fire.” With that, she took off.

Aang turned to Toph, “Let's make a trench to stop the fire from coming any closer.” Toph and Aang ran forward to do that, while Sokka shifted uncomfortably, wanting to help, but not knowing what to do. He stared at his feet.

“What should _I_ do?” he whined softly. Zuko, who was still next to him, put a hand on his shoulder.

“Keep an eye on Momo?” the prince suggested in what Sokka assumed was meant to be a comforting tone, but it just made him feel worse as Zuko moved off to snuff out all the smaller fires burning around the impact site. 

He bristled, “So what, I'm just a lemur sitter?” he called after Zuko’s retreating back.

Momo chittered and he pet the lemur, “There, there, feel better?” he muttered sarcastically. Nobody else heard as they were too busy flying around and using their dumb superpowers.

He watched Aang and Toph work in perfect coordination, moving seamlessly to create a huge trench, pushing the fire back. As they did so, a few flames landed near Sokka on the ground.

He pulled out his machete to thwack at one of the fires until it burned out, but his grunts drew Zuko’s attention and his friend looked up from a few yards away and casually snuffed out the remaining five fires with barely a backwards glance. 

Sokka’s mood worsened, and his shoulders dipped where Momo was still hanging on. 

At that moment, his sister came soaring back on Appa like a flying warrior wielding a large pool of water which she used to douse the fire with just a few funky hand gestures. 

Sokka stood watching, machete limp in his hand.

To his left, Katara was dousing more flames. To his right, Toph was using some crazy earth folding trick to smother the fire on her end. Zuko helped push all the remaining flames to the center when Katara sent a giant glob of water up for Aang to airbend.

“Sokka, stand clear!” the kid shouted, and Sokka pouted. “Right, stand clear,” _That’s_ all _I’m good for, I guess_. 

Despondently, he picked up Momo by his tail and dragged him back a few paces, ignoring the lemur’s indignant chatter, but a wave of his sister’s water still caught him in the face, knocking him down.

He coughed and sputtered, spitting it out and pulling Momo, now soaking wet to his chest protectively, scowling more than ever.

He watched, vaguely disinterested as Aang sent a dome of water over the flames Zuko was containing and it exploded into snow, extinguishing all the flames at once. Suddenly, it was dark again as the sizzle of extinguished flames rose upward.

“Good work, everybody!” Aang called, seeming satisfied and proud. His words were slightly muffled as Sokka emerged from a small pile of snow, now shivering in his sparse Fire Nation clothes.

_Stupid Avatar_ , Sokka thought ungraciously as Momo slid across the now partially icy ground.

Zuko walked over and offered him a hand that he shook off. His friend seemed sympathetic, but that just made him feel even worse. 

Zuko may know what it felt like to be overshadowed by a talented sister, but at the end of the day, he was also an extremely powerful bender. He’d stopped lava for spirits’ sake!

Sokka ignored his friend and didn’t catch anyone’s eye as he slumped his way over to Appa ready to finally go to sleep and put this whole day behind him.

* * *

Katara leaned over her bowl, enjoying the rice that she didn’t have to make herself. Across from her Toph sat, eating her meal, and on her other side Zuko was hunched over, poking at his food sullenly.

She knew he hated the new disguise she’d come up with, inspired by seeing all the wounded and bandaged villagers back in Jang Hui. The bandages hid his scar, but brought attention to the fact that he had been injured there. 

She hated thinking about the painful memories it must have dredged up from the period right after his disgusting father burned him. Not to mention it meant he couldn’t see out of his scarred eye at all.

Even with the bandages, Zuko still kept his cloak hood up in the heat and hunched his shoulders as they sat in public. She hated seeing him make himself so small, but she was just glad he was beside her and not back at the campsite anymore.

Zuko wasn’t the only one in a mood that day. She guessed they were all tired from the events of Jang Hui and then again from saving the town last night.

Sokka had taken his tray of food over the railing of the restaurant patio and had his back turned to them all.

She knew she'd have to talk to him, but for now she just needed some food.

Aang was the last to sit down with his tray of noodles, and as he sat he wondered out loud, “These people have no idea how close they were to getting toasted last night.”

She looked around. Everyone was going about their business casually, though she assumed some of them had to have seen part of the meteor shower at least.

Toph chipped in, “Yeah, the worst thing about being in disguise is that we don't get the hero worship anymore! I miss the love,” she complained.

Aang nodded slightly though Zuko frowned at that and Katara felt vaguely uncomfortable. 

_She didn’t help people just for the ego-boost….right?_

The comment rubbed her brother the wrong way because he finally turned his head back towards them where he’d obviously been listening, “ _Boo-hoo_ ,” he muttered darkly, “ _poor_ heroes.” He turned away from them again and Katara’s eyes narrowed. 

He’d _really_ woken up on the wrong side of the igloo that morning.

“What's your problem?” She countered. “You haven't even touched your smoked sea slug.”

She knew it was her brother’s favorite. She’d hoped having some familiar food in his stomach would make him feel better, but something was really eating at him apparently.

He sighed, the heat disappearing from his voice, replaced by a heavy glumness, “It's just that, all you guys can do this awesome bending stuff like putting out forest fires, or _making_ fires, and _stopping lava_ and flying around and making _other stuff_ fly around…”

“I can't fly around, okay?” She saw his shoulders rise and fall as he took in a deep breath.

“I can't do anything,” he finished sadly

Now Katara’s heart was breaking for her brother too. 

“That's not true!” her voice was overly cheerful as she tried her best to sound positive, “No one can read a map like you,” she said, though the minute she said it she realized how lame it sounded.

Even Zuko leveled a look at her that said _Really?_

She glared back as if to say, _You do better then._

Toph piped up, “I can't read at all!” in her typical self-deprecating fashion.

“Yeah,” Aang said, “and who keeps us laughing with sarcastic comments all the time?” She felt him turn to her, slightly confused as he waved his arms in an exaggerated manner, “I mean, look at Katara's hair, _right_ ? What's up with _that_?” His face was open as he said the weird and mean words.

Katara felt her cheeks heat uncomfortably, feeling a bit hurt despite herself. She wasn’t superficial but-

“ _What’s wrong with Katara’s hair?_ ” Zuko glowered at Aang across the table, making her blush more and Aang pale, realizing his mistake.

“ _Nothing_! I was just trying to…” he trailed off helplessly.

Sokka sighed, “ _Look_ , I appreciate the effort, but the fact is each of you is so amazing and so special and I'm...not...I'm just the guy in the group who's regular.”

Katara sighed and stood, sensing the need to change tactics. She walked over to the ledge and sat down beside Sokka, letting her feet dangle close to his.

Her voice was soft and sincere, “I'm sorry you're feeling so down, but I hope you know, none of us see you that way.” She looked out across the admittedly lovely Fire Nation town and thought about how grateful she was to have her big brother with her.

She wanted to tell him that ever since Mom died and Dad left, he’d been her rock. That she couldn’t imagine learning to master her bending, traveling with the Avatar, or accomplishing anything she had without him by her side for support. 

She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, but she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of the others, so she put a hand on his shoulder.

She could _show_ him, though. 

“I know something that's going to make you feel better,” she offered warmly.

He side eyed her hopefully Sokka “You do?”

She pulled him to his feet and over to their table to join the others. 

“We’re going shopping,'' she declared.

Sokka eyes softened a bit, Aang and Toph cheered, and Zuko rolled his one exposed eye. 

"You all are no better than Uncle," he grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ik I post updates super fast sometimes then slowly other times...honestly I just like to post as I write sometimes bc I don't have a reason to hold out on y'all, and I'm assuming inconsistently rapid updates is better than no updates ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	14. The Waterfall

Zuko snorted in endearment as Sokka vibrated with excitement. “Shopping!” He clapped excitedly before hurtling into the local weapons shop and armory.

He eagerly began running his hands along the walls of armor and weapons as Zuko and the others trailed behind. “Maybe a little something to reinvigorate my battling!” 

Sokka grabbed a pair of nunchaks, turning to Zuko, “Hey, how about these?”

Zuko shrugged. He’d never ventured far beyond his trusty Dao swords and dagger.

Sokka began to test the nunchaks, making fake attacking noises, like “Hiii-ya!” and Zuko’s personal favorite, “smack-a-dacka-doo!”

Unfortunately, Sokka ended up hitting himself on the head and fell into some of the other weapons, spears clattering down. 

In the past, Zuko would have derided this seemingly foolish behavior, but now it brought a fond smile to his lips as he helped his friend back up and helped put the spears back before they got kicked out of the store.

It reminded him of his own excitement when Uncle had gifted him his dagger and he’d pretended to fight an invisible foe with it.

“Let’s look over there,” Zuko steered Sokka towards the swords section. After all, he hadn’t started helping train Sokka on the stolen Fire Nation ship for nothing. 

He needed his own sword to advance. Then they could finally spar properly.

Zuko didn’t want to admit just how excited that made him. He tried to play it cool as he began handing Sokka swords to try and weigh in his grip.

From across the store, he heard the sound of the others messing around. He caught one horrifying glance of Aang covered head to toe in full body armor that included skulls and blades and spikes bigger than Aang’s own head. 

_I’ll let Katara de-escalate that_ , he thought, turning his attention back to Sokka.

But as he turned around, Sokka was running over to a far wall, entranced by a sword rack on the wall, and a particular sword framed and positioned above the others. Even from afar, he could appreciate the fine and intricate details of the hilt and scabbard.

It reminded Zuko of some of the imperial swords and artifacts displayed throughout the palace.

He approached his friend who was running a hand across the flat of the engraved blade. “Ooh! That's what Sokka's talking about.”

Zuko repressed his eye roll at the third person reference when the shopkeeper approached them, causing Zuko to flinch slightly, since he’d come up on his now completely blind side.

“You have a good eye. That's an original from Piandao,” Katara, Toph and Aang approached the three men, “the greatest swordmaster and sword maker in Fire Nation history.” The man huffed proudly, “He lives in the big castle up the road from here.”

“Huh,” Zuko muttered when the shopkeeper was out of earshot again, “I knew Piandao settled somewhere on the Eastern Isles, but didn’t realize he lived all the way out here in Shu Jing now.”

“That's it!” Aang said happily, “That's what you needed all along, Sokka.”

“A sword?” Sokka asked.

“Not the sword, a master!” Sokka frowned thoughtfully and took the sword from the rack as Aang continued, “We've all had masters to help us get better. You should see if you can study with Piandao.”

“But…” Sokka frowned and caught his eye, “Zuko’s my teacher,” he said earnestly. 

Zuko felt the unbandaged side of his face heat up considerably at the compliment and his voice was gruff as he responded, “Thanks, but uh..Aang’s right, Sokka, you deserve to learn directly from the best.”

He realized how much he meant it as he said it, “You’re a real warrior, so you should have a real master. I think it’s a good idea..”

Sokka pulled out the blade he’d been holding, inspecting it, weighing it in his hand like Zuko had shown him. 

“It _would_ be nice to continue my sword training and become a master one day.” He smiled up at Zuko, “All right, I'll talk to him! Then I can _really_ give you a run for your money!”

Zuko grinned back, genuinely happy for his friend. 

* * *

Katara was bored.

Sokka had left to go visit Piandao’s castle hours ago after Zuko gave him a brief rundown on what to expect from his old teacher. When he’d left, Sokka had looked both nervous and excited, and Katara sincerely hoped Piandao would take her brother on as a student. 

If not, she knew Zuko would continue to help train Sokka, but for his own self-esteem she knew having a verified adult master would help him a lot. It’d been hard being the oldest boy left in their village, and she knew he needed validation from an authority figure sometimes. 

Thinking of it made her miss her Dad all the more. Despite their differences on the boat, she still longed to see him again soon. 

Zuko was also missing his Uncle greatly (he kept making them tea and trying to tell Iroh’s jokes, though he never remembered the punchlines). That’s why he’d used the opportunity of staying in Shu Jing to go into town to send a letter to his uncle using the local messenger hawks.

So far the only correspondence he’d told her about had been very vague. Apparently Iroh had mentioned something to Sokka about freeing Ba Sing Se before they’d left to rescue Zuko, but Zuko seemed baffled as to how he was going to do it. He’d just muttered something about, “his weird old gasbag friends.”

But anyways, now that Zuko and Sokka were both gone, Katara was feeling bored.

It was just her, Aang, and Toph lounging around in the heat with Appa and Momo napping nearby. 

“What should we do today?” Aang wondered. She noticed him scratching at his now grown out hair. She thought he looked nicer with his hair grown long, but he wasn’t very used to it, and the heat didn’t help.

Toph shrugged in response. “I'm tapped out. I already picked my toes, twice.” Katara shuddered in disgust.

“Twice?” even Aang was discomfited. 

Toph nodded proudly, “The first time was for cleaning, but the second time's just for the sweet picking sensation!”

Katara was desperate to change the subject, “Sokka's been in charge of the schedule. I'm not sure what we should be doing,” she said glumly, tracing circles into the dirt next to her. 

Toph was now picking at her nose, and it took all of Katara’s willpower not to slap her hand away, “Plus, it's so hot today.”

Aang’s mouth tilted up and his voice took on a joking tone, “Oh yeah? _How_ hot is it?”

“I dunno. Real hot?” Toph mumbled, not really taking the bait.

Katara wracked her brain for something clever to say, but came up short, “I-It's so hot, it's so hot...Momo is shedding like Appa!” She ran her hand through Momo’s fur and flicked some tufts from between her fingers, “Huh, huh?”

_That wasn’t any worse than Zuko’s tea joke_ , she thought proudly.

Aang scratched his head and looked away as an awkward silence descended. 

“I guess the jokes don't run in the family,” he grumbled. 

“Oh, _everyone's_ a critic,” she grumbled, crossing her arms in reproach. 

“I miss Sokka,” Toph sighed. _Me too_ , Katara thought, scratching Momo’s ears. Aang nodded.

But then, Katara saw a figure cresting the hill and stood up excitedly. 

“Is that-”

“It’s Sparky,” Toph clarified, somehow judging by his gait. 

“Zuko!” she and Aang both cried excitedly at the same time then looked at each other and blushed. 

Sure enough, Zuko came towards them, unwrapping his fake bandages as he walked, looking lighter than before, presumably having successfully written to his Uncle. 

Katara rushed forward to meet him, grabbing his hand before he could say anything and wheeling him back in the direction he’d come. 

“Hey! Let’s go take a walk!” she began dragging him away from their sad little campsite.

“That’s not fair!” Toph called out, “You can’t hog him like that.”

Katara smirked, and called back for Toph’s benefit, “Watch me!”

And with that, she commandeered Zuko, so they could finally get some alone time. 

  
To _talk_ and stuff.

* * *

Katara and Zuko walked side by side, enjoying the breeze they'd found as they'd ventured closer to the shade of the mountain ranges and inland hillside. They'd been walking for long enough that it had finally cooled off a bit.

They'd swapped a few kisses and held hands for a while, and now they were just walking separately and making small talk.

Zuko had just finished an in depth rant about his least favorite theater group when he stopped short. She didn't particularly care about theater, having grown up in the South Pole where there wasn't infrastructure for big productions, but she enjoyed listening to Zuko when he got riled up about things he cared about. She paused too as he stopped his info-dump. 

"Woah," she heard Zuko breathe out and followed his gaze.

She could see in the distance a massive waterfall, or rather a series of smaller falls that all coalesced into one great pouring forth of water.

Now that she was paying attention, she could _feel_ the sheer power of the water in her bones from where she stood. It was invigorating, and she was instantly drawn closer to it, Zuko following as she made a beeline for the falls. 

Finally, they were at the edge, listening to the near-deafening roar of the water. The mist and breeze coming off the water felt great on her face. She closed her eyes and simply basked in the presence of the waterfall. 

"It feels _amazing_ , Zuko," she sighed happily. 

She turned to him and he blushed, glancing away to pretend he hadn't been staring at her. _As if she couldn't always feel his gaze on her when he was._

It amused her as he cleared his throat, "Can you er _feel_ the pull of the water?"

She hummed in consideration. She could definitely feel the surge of power thrumming beneath her feet and in front of her, knew that she could easily tap into it and re-channel it. 

"I'm not sure if it's like it is for firebenders," she wondered out loud, "I don't think it's like when you talk about your inner flame, it's not so centralized..."

She pulled some of the moisture from the air around them and formed the water into a small ribbon that she let weave between her fingers as she spoke.

"There's not one _place_ in my body I can feel it, like in my stomach, or with my breath" she recalled the way he'd described his inner fire to her before, "I can't produce it out of nowhere like you can, as you know, but-"

she gathered more moisture out of the air, growing her water ribbon into a large hovering pool,

"-I can pull it from almost anywhere, it's more like I can always feel it outside of myself and then change the energy flow internally.."

He nodded, watching her form the floating pool of water into different shapes. 

He brought his own palm up and let a small flame hover there, rising and falling with his breaths. 

She teasingly sent a spiral of her water to swirl around his wrist and up towards his flame, threatening to put it out. But Zuko just smirked and let his flame extend into its own coil, until his fire and her water were both spiraling around each other, steaming slightly wherever they touched. 

She laughed happily, watching their elements dance around each other, like fish-otters playing around each other in a stream. Eventually they let the two spirals chase each other past the edge of the cliff and dissipate above the waterfall. 

Hands now free, Zuko reached over to take hers gently. She smiled softly, feeling unbearably soft and mushy.

She knew how much Zuko enjoyed the gentle comfort of hand holding, but sometimes he was too shy and embarrassed to initiate the contact. But Katara was always patient enough to coax it out of him.

She would spend as much time as she needed to teach him how to accept tenderness and comfort from those around him. 

_Because I love him_ , she thought. The thought made her insides ache with affection, but it wasn't as embarrassing or horrifying as she thought it'd be. It was pretty simple actually. 

She was in love with Zuko, who just so happened to be a firebender and the son of the Fire Lord himself. She didn't know exactly when that fact stopped bothering her. Maybe when he saved her and Aang's life the first time back in Ba Sing Se, maybe when he'd taught Sokka to fight or brushed Appa's fur or helped her cook or let Toph fall asleep on his arm for hours at a time.

Maybe she'd stopped hating the entirety of the Fire Nation a long time ago and hadn't realized until now, as she stood at the edge of one of the most beautiful sites she'd ever seen.

_There's plenty of beauty in this place_ , she thought. She felt Zuko's calloused but gentle hands and thought about how there was also plenty of good left in its people too. 

She leaned her head against Zuko's shoulder and watched the sun begin to set over the edge of the mountains, enjoying the powerful thrum of the waterfall below. 

She leaned back and pulled his chin down to face her, wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling him down for a long, deep kiss.

"What was that for?" he whispered, voice raspy and rough, but also very soft and vulnerable. She liked that dichotomy in him.

_Because I love you. Because I want us to end this war together and help save the soul of the Fire Nation_. 

"I missed you earlier when you were gone."

"I was only gone an hour or two," he seemed genuinely baffled. 

"Hey, Zuko?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up," she advised, pulling him down for another kiss in front of the Fire Nation waterfall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's only fair that the last Southern waterbender also get to see the prettiest waterfall in the Fire Nation (and get to kiss a cute Fire Nation boy while she's at it)
> 
> Also, I really think Katara would LOve talking about her bending with a bender who couldn't also waterbend (like Aang) because it's such an important part of her identity and pride, and she deserves to show off without the need to feel competitive or possibly overshadowed.


	15. The Bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very short fluffy chapter

“You want to _what_?” Zuko thought he’d heard incorrectly.

“I _said_ ,” Sokka repeated, “I need help moving that meteorite up to Piandao’s castle.”

“Why exactly?”

“To make my very own sword...a _space sword_!” The boy’s blue eyes glowed with a childlike excitement, and Zuko had to admit it did sound pretty damn cool.

“Yeah okay, that’s kind of an awesome idea,” Zuko mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” Sokka grinned ear to ear, “I didn’t quite catch that?”

* * *

Zuko was bored.

The others had left to haul the large meteorite to Master Piandao’s castle and had yet to return. Zuko grudgingly admitted he couldn’t go to see his old teacher without blowing their already flimsy cover, and now realized that meant a whole day alone.

With his thoughts.

Appa groaned while Momo napped on his fuzzy head.

And Appa and Momo for company he supposed. 

He figured he might as well do something useful and practice his bending, so he stood up and found a nice wide open space. He began moving through the basic Katas, focusing on the essentials like Uncle had taught him.

He still had Uncle’s last letter to him stuck deep in the pocket of his tunic along with his dagger and Katara’s necklace. 

He’d told Zuko he was extremely relieved he’d been safely rescued from the ship. That he thought about him every day. How proud he was of Zuko. How he thought of him like a son and felt blessed by Agni to have him to cherish. How happy he was that Zuko was with friends who appreciated him that he could learn and grow from. How he’d never leave his side again after the war was over. 

Zuko had teared up a little when he’d first read it, but luckily, no one else had been around to see. 

And if he’d pulled out the letter several times since then, just to reread Uncle’s words and trace his fingers over the unwavering support and reassurance, well no one had to know. 

He tried to clear his mind as he moved on to a more advanced set. His fire felt more powerful than ever before. 

Of course, he’d always had to strain and practice twice as hard as Azula to get half as far in these advanced sets, but now they felt more natural to him. His body eased through the complex motions naturally without too much overthinking. 

He found himself..enjoying his firebending more.

He hadn’t yet told Katara his suspicions, but he thought that maybe he’d uncovered a new source for his firebending back in Jang Hui when he’d stopped the lava from burning the nearby homes. After watching Katara heal the sick villagers. After everything he'd gone through since Ba Sing Se and before.

He guessed it was...the desire to protect? Compassion?... _Love_?

He hated to imagine what Azula or his father would think of _that_ idea. 

But only looking back could he admit to himself how much weaker his firebending had seemed back on the Water Tribe then Fire Nation ships once he’d switched sides. 

He’d still been furious when fighting Azula in Ba Sing Se, but afterwards...most of his anger had slowly evaporated, and if he hadn’t had so little reason to use his firebending too much on the ships he might’ve noticed sooner that his flames had diminished. Without his normal anger to fuel his bending he'd been lost. 

But now, the flames flying from his fist were bright and strong, and he felt himself grinning as the power surged through his limbs then outward, dangerous but controlled. 

He recalled the day before and kissing Katara in front of the waterfall.

He let out a wave of flame so hot it scorched the grass below. 

He thought about Sokka calling him a good teacher.

He let out several fireballs in rapid succession, each as powerful as the last.

He thought about Toph clinging to his arm and tapping out a message on his leg. 

He fell into a perfect front sweep. 

He remembered Aang’s words from forever ago: _“Do you think we could’ve been friends?”_

Eventually, Zuko would have to tell Aang how much the friendship he’d once scorned now meant to him. 

He executed a perfect roundhouse kick. 

The flames that soared from his kick were so bright he could’ve sworn there were flecks of pink and purple in it.

Though maybe those were just spots dancing in his eyes. 

* * *

Zuko felt peaceful snuggled up against Appa while the others recounted the epic sword fight between Sokka and Piandao with great enthusiasm and many added sound effects courtesy of Sokka himself. 

“-But apparently he knew I was Water Tribe the whole time!”

“He said he should go by a better cover name like Lee!” Aang added, “Hey, weren’t _you_ Lee back in Ba Sing Se?”

Zuko blushed a bit, “Yeah, when I worked at the tea shop with Uncle..”

Sokka guffawed loudly, leaning over himself, “ _Lee from the tea shop_!” he said it in a high pitched joking voice, “I love it!”

“What’s funny about-” Zuko bristled, but Toph broke up an argument before it could transpire.

“Hey Zuko, check out my space rock!” She bent it into something that looked like a small flame and he smiled as he picked it up and turned it over in his hand.

“That’s really cool, Toph,” she beamed at the praise, pulling it back to play with some more. 

“Yeah!” Sokka jumped up, “Space earth for the win! Sorry, Zuko, but Space sword is way cooler than regular Dao swords.”

Zuko stood up slowly, smirking at the obvious challenge in his friend’s voice. “Oh yeah?”

Sokka grinned back, already moving into the nearby clearing and unsheathing his new, admittedly awesome, black meteorite sword. “Oh yeah.”

“How much are you willing to bet on that?”

“A week’s worth of Appa-hair-brushing duties.”

“Done.”

* * *

Zuko smiled to himself, leaning against the back of the saddle as they left Shu Jing on the horizon. He lazily let his arm hang over the side and pet Appa’s back. 

“You missed a spot, buddy.”

He didn’t have to turn around to see Sokka’s pout.


	16. The Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is somewhat of an ~homage~ to Ep. 5 The Beach, one of the best episodes ever, but one that obviously would not have occurred if Zuko joined the Gaang early, so here's a compromise including beach activities, mentions of the Fire Nation Gals, and bonfire angst.

They were flying above yet another Eastern Fire Nation island and Zuko appreciated the way this island reminded him of Ember Island where he and his family vacationed together when they used to be happy...or at least as happy as they ever were.

“Maybe we could uh...set up camp on the beach?” he suggested hesitantly, unable to think of a good reason why aside from his own creeping sense of nostalgia and desire to feel some familiar sand and waves again. 

Sokka looked down from Appa’s saddle and Aang let up their floating cloud cover enough that he could examine the terrain. 

“It does seem to be deserted...And those cliffs there give us pretty good cover from the mainland..Alright,” Sokka acquiesced, “Beach day it is, then.”

Everyone else seemed happy with this, and soon enough they’d finished setting up camp on the deserted shore. The sun was still high above them so they began to spread out, exploring the beach. 

Sokka stretched out and soaked in the sun, while Katara and Aang played around by throwing a ball of seawater back and forth. Zuko walked around with Toph and handed her interesting shells for her to feel. 

It reminded him of playing at Ember Island with Azula before their father’s poison had fully soaked through her personality. 

He’d collect pretty shells for her sometimes before she outgrew gifts. Once after he’d made a shell necklace for their mother, she’d demanded he make her one too and wanted to examine each shell he picked up to make sure it was good enough.

_Even when Azula had been innocent, she was always a princess_ , he mused sadly, missing her in spite of himself. 

When Toph finally got bored of this activity, Zuko suggested they make sandcastles. It was another thing he and Azula and even Lu Ten had done together in the good old days, but he tried not to dwell on it too much.

He tried to focus on the friends (and siblings) he’d found for himself.

Toph might not be able to see as well on the shifting sands, but packing earth together and chucking it around was still right up her alley, and she enjoyed this new task.

Eventually, Sokka meandered over and joined them, adding on to Zuko’s basic structure to begin building a full blown city. Time passed and their city kept growing and spreading. 

They debated the utility of digging trenches and canals through their sand city streets and other design issues. 

“You’re building the outer walls too high, Zuko.”

“I’m not! These are just like the fortifications around the Caldera, which hasn’t ever fallen!”

“Sorry, not _everyone_ wants to live inside a giant scraggly old volcano-”

“It’s dormant!”

“That’s what they _all_ say until-”

Just then, Toph distracted them both by getting up and stomping on their city all together, cackling evilly as she did so, “No city’s a match for the _greatest earthbender alive_ -”

Things descended into chaos from there. Zuko thought he’d lunged at Toph in revenge, but somehow he ended up wrestling Sokka, crushing all their outer ports, while Toph cheered and threw sand on top of them.

Eventually Aang and Katara came over to end things for good.

Katara tutted and ruffled Zuko’s hair until all the sand fell out. 

The sun began to set and all the colors began oozing together, and Zuko still had sand in his eye, but he felt happy. 

* * *

Katara leaned up against Zuko’s side as they sat on a rock together in front of a bonfire Zuko had set up for them. 

As had become something of a tradition, once dinner was over, they began trading stories. Tonight, Aang told them all about his old Air Nomad friends and the games they used to play together. 

Katara could always feel Zuko tense up in residual guilt whenever Aang talked about the Air Nomads, but he never interrupted. 

Sokka responded by talking about the games he and Katara used to play in their village with the other children, and she chimed in to correct things he got wrong or embarrass her brother with stories of his most amusing failures. 

“You did _not_ win the great snowball mega death fight of 95 AG!”

“Oh yes, I most certainly did!”

Toph begrudgingly talked about some of the better memories of her childhood in Gaoling, including some amusing stories about her adventures with the badger moles and pranks she’d played on her parents’ aristocratic friends. 

They lapsed into a silence where Zuko was the only one who hadn’t spoken yet, aside from chuckling and snorting at parts of the others’ tales. 

This wasn’t very unusual to them at this point since Zuko was always hesitant to share, so they gave him room without trying to push him as usual.

Tonight, he did speak, and Katara turned her head so she could see his face. 

“We used to vacation at Ember Island, which sort of looks like this beach here, except there are more houses by the shore...including one my father gifted my mother on their first anniversary..”

Katara found it hard to imagine the Firelord ever doing something kind for anyone else, even Fire Lady Ursa. 

“He didn’t come all the time, but it was always me, mother, and Azula...before he died my older cousin Lu Ten and Uncle would stay with us too,” he frowned at the memory.

He looked up at the others, slightly unsure, “I don’t know if you know the whole story, but Lu Ten...he was Uncle’s only son, he died in the siege of Ba Sing Se when I was 12,” he explained sadly. They all frowned in sympathy with Iroh and another loss for a younger Zuko.

“Anyways, I always loved the island. Mother took us to see plays at the local theater,” Katara chuckled, remembering his rant about the Ember Island players the other day, putting the pieces together. 

“And we were happy...or as close as we ever got, Azula and I” he shrugged, looking out across the water, gaze distant. 

Katara couldn’t help the question from slipping past her lips, “ _Do you miss her?_ ” 

The brightness of the bonfire shadowed Zuko’s face starkly, making him look somewhat harsh and dangerous in the shadows. She noticed the fire flared a bit, though she knew it wasn’t intentional as Zuko felt a burst of anger being reminded of his little sister. 

But then he deflated a bit and his shoulders sagged again, face softening. “ _Yes_ ,” he said, voice painfully honest. 

“She wasn’t always like…” he trailed off unable to find the words for Azula, “Father never really allowed me to have friends, thought it was a distraction from my training, so aside from my Mother, I...well Azula got to have friends, Mai and Ty Lee...the three of them were the closest thing I had…”

Katara quickly smothered the pang of jealousy at hearing Mai’s name. Zuko had told her bits and pieces about their relationship and breakup, and it had been far from perfect, but she wouldn’t hold it against him for missing her.

He’d had so few people to care for him in his life. She squeezed his arm tighter. 

“I know they’ve all done a lot of bad things, but...so have I,” he shrugged. “I don’t want to make excuses for them...or for myself, but…” he trailed off again, unsure of how to finish.

Katara saved him, “You’re allowed to miss people, Zuko...And nobody’s perfect...I know that now…” Katara remembered not so long ago when she had divvied the world up into good and bad people. The not so distant memory made her uncomfortable now. 

“...It’s okay to forgive some of the people you’ve left behind and hold onto the good times. It’s healthier than hating them for the rest of your life...It makes you the bigger man,” she squeezed his arm once more. 

Aang piped up in agreement while Sokka and Toph shrugged.

But Zuko’s shoulders seemed to soften a hair. 

“Thanks, Katara.”

Eventually the sparks started to die, and Zuko let them as Toph, then Aang, then Sokka fell asleep to the sound of the cicadas in the distance.

But Katara was still awake, watching the embers against Zuko’s side, enjoying the warmth on both sides. 

Zuko quietly picked up a trail of the conversation from earlier.

“I’d like to forgive Azula and...and maybe help her somehow,” Katara listened quietly, unsure of whether she believed this was truly possible, “but I’ll _never_ forgive him...for what he did to her, to my mom, to...to all of us, to the world…”

He turned to catch her eye, “Katara, I _have_ to teach Aang firebending, I know I can do it now, I wasn't sure before but...I think it's been my destiny all along." She nodded, having expected this topic to come up sooner than later. She told him as much.

Zuko sucked in a breath, “He _has_ to kill Ozai. I _want_ him to..” Zuko looked scared and guilty as he said it. 

Katara brushed her hand through Zuko’s hair like she’d done earlier to wipe the sand away and gave him a hard, even look.

“That’s okay too, Zuko. It’s good that you can forgive people…”

She thought about the face of her own mother’s killer.

“...But you don’t always have to.”


	17. The Past (Part I)

The next morning, Zuko was up with the sun as usual. Even without his bending, it’d be sort of hard not to with the sun already shining down mercilessly on the white sand of the beach, making it hot to the touch beneath their bedrolls which were incidentally now littered with sand.

He noticed a slight sunburn already forming on Toph’s cheeks where she slept and figured this would probably be the last time they purposely slept directly on the beach. 

Zuko crept past all the others who were just starting to rouse and shook Aang awake. The bleary grey stare he got in return seemed slightly betrayed. “Zuko?”

“Yeah, Aang,” he said in a hushed tone, “Can we talk..in private?”

Aang furrowed his brow and looked curious, but nodded and followed Zuko further down the beach out of earshot of the others.

“What’s up?”

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck

“Erm..well the firelord-“ _has to die..No that’s way too direct for the pacifist air nomad kid_ , Zuko thought. _Start over._

“Well...you are...the Avatar...um as you already know of course..so you have to master all four elements..” Zuko should’ve practiced how he was gonna say this with Katara. Even a nice badger frog might’ve been a good practice partner.

“Zuko, are you okay?” Aang looked genuinely concerned “Did you hit your-“

“I think it’s finally time for you to learn firebending!...And I think I need to teach you….If-if you’ll have me..” Zuko blurted it out quickly.

Zuko looked down at his feet so he was caught off guard when Aang hugged him suddenly around the waist. Cautiously, he let his arm fall over the younger boy’s shoulders before he pulled back.

“This is perfect, Zuko! Of course I’ll have you as my firebending teacher! I can tell it’s meant to be just like with Toph! I’ve been dying to ask you, but she said I should wait and let you come to me about it first!” Aang beamed “She said if I gave you space you’d eventually come around and let me pet you like a saber-toothed cat!”

Zuko frowned at that analogy, but moved on.

“Good,” he cleared his throat “we can begin as soon as-“

Suddenly Aang’s soft grey eyes began glowing and Zuko stumbled back in surprise as the boy sat in the sand cross legged, now in the Avatar state. _Thanks for the warning_ , he thought drily.

“Uhhhh,” Zuko threw his head over his shoulder trying to catch Sokka or Katara’s eye at the campsite, but they were too far away. He turned back to his friend and sat down next to him.

It reminded him of when Aang went to the spirit world in the North Pole.

_When I fought Katara and kidnapped him._

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Sure, Aang, I’ll just wait here for you then. Don’t mind me,” he muttered as he sat and watched the waves wash in and out

It reminded him of the steady flicker of a candle. He could meditate to this too.

But soon enough, the white glow beside him disappeared and Aang sagged into Zuko who brought his hands up to steady him.

“What happened?”

Aang looked just as confused as Zuko felt. 

“It was Roku! He said before I could begin firebending, he needed to show us something...something about how to end the war, I needed to know how it began...He said that we should go to his home island on the Summer Solstice!”

“But that’s tomorrow!” Zuko sighed. _Damn Avatars and their damn cryptic messages and their lack of advanced notice._

“Okay, well it really shouldn’t take too long-“ Zuko paused, “Wait, _us_?”

Aang nodded.

“He mentioned you specifically.”

Zuko didn’t know how to feel about _that_. 

Especially not on an empty stomach.

* * *

After being filled in, Sokka had enlisted Zuko’s help to pour over his trusty Fire Nation map to pinpoint the best course to get to Roku’s Island. 

The island itself was small and unremarkable, but the main issue they had to figure out was how to get there without being seen. It would be the furthest inland they’d gone yet, and Zuko helped him map a course that would get them there in time for the solstice while avoiding passing any major cities or towns. 

They also commiserated over the Avatars’ lack of manners and respect for scheduling logistics while they did this. 

Sokka leaned over to Zuko, glancing at Aang to make sure he was far enough away and whispered, “You have _no_ idea...Once we were trying to rid this Earth Kingdom village of this wild panda bear spirit, and I got _trapped in the Spirit World_ , but Roku thought _that_ would be a good time to magically whisk Aang away on his spirit dragon to tell him to come to Crescent Island...just to tell him what he could’ve told him then and there!”

Zuko shook his head in support, encouraging Sokka to continue.

“I just don’t get this Roku guy! Why is he so over dramatic about everything? But Kyoshi...Now _that’s_ an Avatar who knew how to prioritize-”

He trailed off as Aang wandered back over. 

He might find Roku and his crypticness tiresome, but he wasn’t going to tempt him to pop up in the Avatar state and kick Sokka’s ass for talking trash. 

* * *

“There it is. That's Roku's home,” Aang called out from atop Appa’s head. 

Sokka looked down in confusion at the seemingly barren island.

“But, there's nothing here,” Katara said, voicing his own confusion as Appa landed.

Toph jumped down from Appa's saddle. “Yes, there is!” She lifted her feet and planted them a few times, “An entire village, hundreds of houses…” Her voice quieted as a strong breeze moved a layer of ash along the ground, brushing past their feet “...all completely buried in ash.”

_Bummer_ , thought Sokka. 

Just then the scenery around them changed completely. Sokka yelped as the ground beneath him suddenly disappeared only to be replaced by mist and clouds. “Guys!” he called out, looking around. He yelped again as he saw that his friends were still standing next to him, only they were slightly transparent and glowing.

He looked down at his own hand to see it was blue and misty.

_Ugh, not the Spirit World again_ , he moaned internally.

Aang spoke up, drawing his attention to a more corporeal looking figure. He looked vaguely familiar, but Sokka didn’t think he’d met this man before in person. 

He wore red Fire Nation robes and had long white hair, partially top knotted in the style of Fire Nation men as Zuko had shown him, and had a long, narrow, angular face. 

Oh, and he was on top of a huge red dragon. 

“Roku?” Aang called. _Ah, that makes sense_.

“Come, Aang,” Roku’s voice seemed to echo and reverberate all around them as he held a hand out to Aang, pulling him onto the back of said dragon.

“What about my friends?” Aang asked to Sokka's relief. 

“Ah, yes, it is important for your companions to also understand the origins of the war you are trying to end,” he turned to gaze at Zuko, “especially you.” 

Sokka could tell Zuko felt uncomfortable under his gaze, even in his glow-y spirit form, but he said nothing as they all piled onto the dragon’s back.

Sokka felt a swooping sensation in his gut as the dragon began to fly through the seemingly weightless space they’d entered.

“Where are we going?” Aang muttered from up front. 

“To visit my past,” Sokka wanted to roll his eyes, “Our _shared_ past,” he turned back to Aang to smirk dramatically. 

Sokka couldn’t put his finger on it but the guy reminded him of someone he knew, though of course he’d never met Roku who died over a hundred years ago.

He was distracted as the intangible fog they’d been flying through materialized into a real life scene that looked and smelled and felt bright and real, though his body was still incorporeal. 

They were no longer on the dragon’s back, but now all standing on the ground itself. He looked over at the smoky figure of Toph, wondering if she could still sense what was happening in this vision of what Sokka assumed was one of Roku’s memories.

They seemed to be standing in some kind of lush Fire Nation courtyard where two young firebenders were dueling, exchanging fire blasts. 

“That’s you?” Katara asked and Roku hummed in agreement.

They watched as the two men dueled, and Sokka noticed the way they began looking for each other’s weakness the way he’d learned to do when sparring with Zuko. Sokka saw the moment the stalkier of the two men zeroed in on young Roku’s foot which was near a tree root. He smiled, using this to his advantage, stepping up to drive Roku back, causing him to trip over the root and fall back. 

But before he could land, the man grabbed Roku by the shirt to keep him from falling. While he held him, he raised his hand as if to fire a blast, and Sokka began to flinch, but instead he let Roku fall to the ground, and Sokka let out a breath of relief even if it was a memory. 

They seemed to be sparring, but after learning the story of Zuko’s scar, Sokka would never underestimate the ability of the Fire Nation to hurt its own. 

“Looks like I win again, Roku,” he gloated but extended his hand to help Roku to his feet.

The lankier boy took it, laughing, “Are you kidding? The tree root did all the work.” Still, he patted his friend on the shoulder, “Nice one, Sozin.”

Next to him, he heard Katara gasp and Aang asked, “You were friends with Fire Lord Sozin?” Zuko was just studying the younger version of his great grandfather in shock. This was probably really trippy for him especially.

Roku responded calmly, “Back then, he was just Prince Sozin.” He sighed, “And he was my best friend.” The back of Sokka’s neck itched uncomfortably, trying to reconcile the idea of an Avatar being best friends with the biggest warmonger of their time. 

As if attached to the characters in the scene, their spirit bodies seemed to follow without having to move as Roku and Sozin left the courtyard. They watched the two boys who watched a pretty young Fire Nation lady go by. Next to Sokka, Zuko stiffened. 

As she walked past the two friends, Sokka noticed the way Roku stared at her and blushed, which Sozin obviously noticed too.

He nudged Roku, “Say something to her.”

Roku walked after her and half raised his hand in an attempt to greet the lady, who slightly blushed, but faltered in embarrassment. He sighed, put his hands on his head, and fell down dramatically. 

Sokka felt a rush of second hand embarrassment. He hoped he never looked that dumb when he was running around trying to woo Yue, but he probably had. Her memory made him feel more somber.

“Love is hard when you are young,” Roku said sagely. Sokka had to nod, still thinking about Yue.

“You don't have to tell me,” Aang muttered with just a hint of his former jealousy over Zuko and Katara. 

Both Zuko and Katara looked uncomfortable at that as the scene faded and changed. 

Now they were standing on a red balcony, elaborately decorated with paper lanterns and red tapestries. 

“Sozin and I shared many things, including a birthday,” Roku explained the point of the party they’d obviously been dropped into. 

Roku and Prince Sozin walked down from the stairs, and Sokka swiveled his head around, finding the girl Roku had a crush on in the crowd. Next to her, her friend whispered something to her and giggled. 

Sokka had to admit, he and Roku seemed to share a certain goofy appeal to beautiful, refined ladies.

The young memory Roku also seemed to notice and of course almost fell down the stairs only to be caught by Sozin who laughed at his friend. 

The crowd suddenly grew quiet, and they all turned, along with the party guests as a group of what Sokka recognized as Fire Sages entered the courtyard. 

They walked straight toward Prince Sozin and Roku, as Sozin hurried down the stairs to meet them.

“Did something happen to my father?”

“No, Prince Sozin,” the Sage replied, “We are not here for you. We're here to announce the identity of the next Avatar.” The crowd whispered as Roku and Sozin both stood in shock. Teh Fire Sages began to bow and around his friends, the guests followed their lead.

“It is our honor to serve you, Avatar Roku.” The young Roku stood with his jaw dropped, bewildered. Sozin, still in shock himself, looked around at the crowd, and quickly turned to kneel before Roku as well. 

Sokka snorted at the idea of ever bowing down to Aang. 

Roku spoke, “Soon the day came when I had to leave the Fire Nation and face my destiny as the Avatar. I needed to travel the world so he could master the other elements.”

The scene shifted again. 

Suddenly there were all in a room, where Roku sat slumped over on the edge of a bed with a dejected look on his face, Prince Sozin standing near the doorway.

“Hey, why aren't you packed yet, all-powerful Avatar?” he teased.

Roku did not respond to his friend's question, and continued to stare down. Sozin looked down at his friend sympathetically. Suddenly, he smiled, apparently deciding to goof off and cheer him up as he lept around attempting to mimic all the bending styles. “Come on, show me how it's done using all four kinds of bending!”

It felt like something Sokka would do, and relating to the man who started the war and committed genocide made his skin crawl. 

Roky responded glumly, “I started packing, but then the Fire Sages told me I won't need any worldly possessions anymore.”

Sokka would also be sad. He loved stuff.

“Oh.” Sozin sat down near Roku who went on, “It happened so fast. Everything's gonna be different now.”

Sokka watched Sozin think for a moment before removing his headpiece and giving it to Roku.

“Here, hope you're at least allowed to have this.”

“But this is a royal artifact,” Sozin argued, “It's supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince.”

Sokka glanced over at Zuko who was watching intently, wondering if that was still true and if he’d ever worn it before. 

“I want you to have it,” Sozin continued. Roku took the headpiece as they both stood and bowed to each other, smiling. 

Now they were somewhere higher up in the clouds. 

“Hey, this is the Southern Air Temple!” Aang said.

Roku nodded, “This was the first stop on my Avatar journey. It was the place where I was trained to master airbending.” they all watched a line of young Air Nomad monks. At the end, the younger Roku was goofing off with a fellow monk.

“..And also where I met an old friend of yours, Monk Gyatso.”

“No way!” Sokka watched Aang delightedly soak in the sight of his old mentor as a boy his own age. Aang laughed at their antics, “I can’t believe you were friends with Gyatso just like I was!”

Roku looked at each of them in turn, “Some friendships are so strong,” he closed his eyes, “they can even transcend lifetimes.”

“After my years mastering airbending, I traveled to the Northern Water Tribe.”

The setting became familiar to them, though it hurt part of Sokka’s heart to see the place he’d both found and lost Yue. 

Katara perked up as Roku knocked his waterbending master backwards with a huge wave. It must’ve reminded her of her training with Pakku.

The scene shifted to a more temperate climate, and they watched Roku raced up the slope of a tall mountain by bending the rock beneath his feet, as another earthbender caught up to him. 

“My earthbending master, Sud, was uncompromising, stubborn, and blunt…”

They all turned to Toph who elbowed Aang for laughing, though Sokka didn’t know if arm punches could even land in their spirit forms.

“...And a lifelong friend.”

They listened as Roku reminisced and they saw him looking older, bending on a beach somewhere. “It was bitter work, but the results were worth it.” He started by waterbending, before moving on to earthbending, firebending, and finally, airbending. On all four sides the four elements pushed out around him in massive blasts.

Sokka let out a low whistle. He’d seen the Avatar state, but never a fully trained, mature Avatar able to wield all four elements without it. Even Aang seemed taken aback.

“But I had not seen my dear friend in twelve long years...We had both changed...”

The scene shifted so they were back in what Sokka assumed was the Fire Nation palace throne room. There was a huge golden throne with a ginormous golden dragon coiled behind it. Beside Sokka, Zuko tensed, but looked around in bemusement like the interior had changed. 

Roku walked down a long red carpet toward Sozin whose face was cold and impassive.

“Sozin! Or should I say, Fire Lord!” he said cavalierly, making Sokka nervous for him. Zuko also paled at the casual address. Sokka didn’t know if he could feel it, but he settled a hand on his friend’s shoulder. 

“Customarily, my subjects bow before greeting me,” he said as he walked down from his throne menacingly. Sokka saw more than felt Zuko’s blue and glowing shoulders tense.

“But you're the exception,” Sozin broke the tension by smiling and hugging Roku. Sokka let out a breath.

“After all these years, he was still my best friend and a few months later, my best man.”

Suddenly they were in another fancy Fire Nation courtyard for what looked like a wedding ceremony and celebration with lots of guests. The dark haired Roku lifted a veil to reveal the familiar face of the girl from the earlier memories.

“Roku, it's that girl who didn't even know you're alive!” Aang pointed out the obvious. 

“Ta Min,” Roku’s voice was full of reverence as they watched the ceremony. Sokka glanced over at Katara who seemed oddly wistful as she watched the proceedings. Toph seemed apathetic about this scene, and Zuko was just staring at Ta Min like he was trying to place her from somewhere, sort of like Sokka had felt with Roku before.

“But the day took a turn,” Roku warned as they were drawn out towards an open air fresco where Roku and Sozin stood, still in their clothes from the ceremony.

“What's on your mind?” Rokue asked.

The older more serious looking Sozin raised his fist slightly, “I've been thinking hard about the state of the world lately.” Sokka felt a sinking in his stomach, but Roku just put his arm over Sozin’s shoulder, “Sozin, it is my wedding! Have a cookie, dance with someone, lighten up!”

“I know, I know, but just hear me out...Right from the start, I was destined to be Fire Lord. And although we didn't always know it, you were destined to be the Avatar. It's an amazing stroke of fate we know each other so well, isn't it? Together, we could do... _anything_.”

Sokka didn’t like the sound of that, and neither did a younger Roku.

“Yeah, we could,” he said, face stony.

“Our nation is enjoying an unprecedented time of peace and wealth. Our people are happy, and we're so fortunate in so many ways.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“I've been thinking, we should share this prosperity with the rest of the world,” Sokka felt his hand clench into a fist and next to him Katara scoffed angrily at the seeds of the propaganda they’d seen first hand.

“-In our hands is the most successful empire in history. It's time we expanded it.”

“No!” Roku was alarmed, “The four nations are meant to be just that: four.”

“Roku, you haven't even stopped to consider the possibilities.”

“There are no possibilities. This is the last I want to hear about this,” He walked away from the balcony with an dangerously angry expression on his face. Sokka had to agree with him. 

“That was my first real test as the Avatar. Unfortunately, it was many years before I learned that Sozin had gone ahead with his plan, despite my warning.”

The scene changed to Roku flying over a lake on his dragon Fang, as he approached land. As he approached an Earth Nation dock, he saw an Earth Nation fortress with plumes of smoke rising from inside and the Fire Nation insignia strewn over the original Earth Kingdom banners, covering it. 

Then they were inside as Roku burst through the doors of Fire Lord Sozin's throne room with steam coming out of the sleeves of his robes in anger.

“I've seen the colonies, Sozin.” He pointed an accusatory finger, “How dare you occupy Earth Kingdom territory!?”

“How dare _you_ , a citizen of the Fire Nation, address your Fire Lord this way. Your loyalty is to our nation first. Anything less makes you a _traitor_.”

Sokka noticed Zuko shrink back at what must be a familiar tone. He scowled at the figure of Sozin sitting on his throne imperiously, imagining him to be Ozai for a moment.

“Don't do this, Sozin. Don't challenge me. It will only end badly...It's over.”

As Roku turned back and started to leave, Sokka called out, though he knew it did nothing to the memory as Sozin, full of rage, jumped from his throne and shot out an immensely powerful stream of fire. 

The flames went out and Sokka could not see the young Roku anywhere. Sozin’s eyes also widened in surprise, expression becoming blank. Suddenly, Roku burst from the ground behind Sozin, having burrowed into the ground to defend from Sozin's attack. 

Before Sozin could turn back, Roku delivered a powerful air blast at the Fire Lord, causing him to slam on the gates of the room. As Sozin fell down, Roku immediately earthbent a pillar of earth to lift Sozin into the air and pins him by the back of his robes to the ceiling.

Sokka thought that must be the end of the fight, but his eyes widened as Rolu brought his hands together in front of his face and entered the Avatar State. The entire throne room began to shake as Roku began to splinter the pillars holding it up.

Sokka instinctively put his hands up as the building exploded. 

_I guess that’s why they had to redecorate the throne room_ , Sokka thought wryly.

Roku used the air to lift himself to Sozin’s eye level. “I'm sparing you, Sozin. I'm letting you go in the name of our past friendship. But I warn you. Even a single step out of line will result in your permanent end.”

Sozin stared at Roku, his face full of fury and hate before he dropped his head in defeat. Sokka wanted to scream at Roku to kill him then and there, to end the war before it started, but of course it’d do no good. 

The past was immutable. Roku turned and quickly rode a cyclone away from Sozin. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please suspend your disbelief regarding them all getting to go on the Avatar Spirit World Flashback Field Trip


	18. The Past (Part II)

Old Roku’s voice was heavy, “Sozin and I didn't speak or see each other for twenty-five years after our battle. I spent most of my spare time here, at my home.”

Suddenly they were in a modest cottage where an elderly Roku and Ta Min were sleeping before a loud noise shook the house. Sokka thought he knew where this was going as large fireballs fell from the sky, crashing into the island

The couple fled the room, but Sokka noticed Roku's headpiece slip to the floor, before they were all dragged outside to witness the air filled with smoke and ash and a coughing Roku and Ta Min running away from the erupting volcano in the center of the island.

“Let's go!” He used his bending to create a path for them to run through the ash.

They watched in horror as the townspeople ran through the streets to escape the waves of smoke and ash that poured through the streets. Sokka, Aand, and Katara had seen the eruption back at Makapu village, but it had been nowhere close to this devastating.

Ash continued to fall as a swell of lava oozed from the mouth of the volcano. Roku dropped his wife’s hand, motioning her to continue. 

Sokka’s chest ached remembering the way he’d tried to stop Yue from her sacrifice, the way she’d pulled her hand from his.

Ta Min looked back, desperately, but Roku turned to face the advancing smoke, and airbent a huge dome of protection around himself to move back towards the volcano. 

Large columns of black smoke billowed from the summit, as lightning struck above the volcano and the earth rumbled from the disaster. A landslide approached the town, threatening to destroy it completely before Roku earthbent a gigantic wall, riding the wall to meet the falling earth and stop it. 

Aang gasped, “This is amazing, Roku! You're battling a volcano, and you're winning!”

Roku shook his head, “Unfortunately, my success didn't last long, Aang. There was no way I could do it all.”

Sokka was impressed as he watched the earthwall save the town, but even as Roku succeeded in stopping the rockfall, the volcano ejected another massive wave of lava. The flow breached the walls of earth, causing Roku to flee to the bottom of the summit. 

Roku ran toward the volcano, and leapt, blowing a powerful blast of air from his mouth at the lava, which cooled and hardened, as Roku landed on it, running back to the lip of the volcano. Suddenly, a blast of gas spouted to his right, and he turned and covered his face. 

Sokka knew by now it was unnecessary but he still held his breath, not wanting to breath in the poisonous air that Roku was now airbending away. 

“Battling the elements was hard enough. I had to do it while I could barely breathe. The poisonous, volcanic gases were overwhelming.” _No kidding_ , Sokka thought.

He jumped as lightning crashed and Fang the dragon came in, flying just as the summit emitted another lava fountain. Fang pulled back, narrowly escaping the blast, and roared. Sokka hadn’t particularly enjoyed his brief time riding the spirit dragon, but he still flinched at the close call.

“It's all right Fang!” Roku, coughed, obviously not fine, “Get out of here! I'm fine!”

Predictably, the dragon stayed by his side. Sokka glanced at Aang’s devastated face, imagining if it was him and Appa in this situation. It hurt him to think about, but he knew Appa would stay with Aang until the bitter end as well.

Finally, Roky entered the Avatar State, and despite knowing better, Sokka thought he was saved. 

Roku earthbent a tremor through the volcano, breaking out the back side of the crater, which lessened the lava flow. As the lava flowed down, the second volcano erupted, as Roku, no longer in the Avatar State, hopelessly dropped his head. 

Sokka wanted to shout at him not to give up, but just then, all their heads turned to see a blue dragon appear with Sozin of all people on its back.

“Need a hand, old friend?”

A surprised Roku turned back “Sozin?” Sokka wanted to yell at him not to trust him.

“There's not a moment to waste.”

Sozin and Roku rode on the Fire Lord's dragon's back to the second volcano where Roku began bending the fire fountain down into the crater. Sozin himself was balanced on the mouth of the vent, as he cooled the lava by absorbing the heat, passing it through himself, and redirecting it out through his other hand. 

“Zuko!” Katara hissed, and Sokka turned to them both, realizing Zuko had not been the first to take the heat out of lava...his great-grandfather had done it on this fateful night, though in a slightly different manner. Zuko looked sick at learning the origin of this technique. 

Confusingly, it seemed like the two old friends were controlling the disaster and could make it out alive. Suddenly, the earth violently shook and another surge of ash and rock shoot from the crater, and the two turned to run.

“Don't breathe the toxic gas!” Roku called which Sokka thought was obvious, but the guy was going through it he supposed.

As the two ran, a jet of toxic gas shot up directly next to Sozin. Roku quickly airbent it away to protect Sozin before gas erupted directly into Roku's face, causing him to shake and fall to his knees, obviously disoriented. He lifted his hands to Sozin pathetically. 

“It's too much….Please.”

“No!” Zuko cried, apparently already knowing what was going to happen, hands clenched as he watched his great grandfather turn to the trembling Roku with a cold look in his eyes. 

“Without you, all my plans are suddenly possible. I have a vision for the future, Roku…”

Sozin mounted his dragon and flew away as Roku was surrounded by toxic gas, and behind him a surge of rock and ash flowed swiftly toward him. With the rock avalanche just moments away from swallowing Roku, Fang flew down and wrapped himself around Roku. 

The wave of ash and rubble covered the two from view completely and Sokka was suddenly blinded by a bright light coming through a room where a baby's cries could be heard. An old nun held a smiling infant with dark hair in her arms.

_Was that-?_

“Who's...wait, that's _me_ , isn't it?” Aang murmured, awestruck. Sokka saw the shadowed figures of three Air Nomads. The nun held up baby Aang to the light while two people, Sokka assumed his parents, stood in the shadows.   
  


Sokka absently wondered if Aang had ever even met or seen his parents until now, though his mind was still reeling from information overload.

The scene faded back to the white, timeless, weightless space they’d started in. Roku turned to Aang, “Make sense of our past, Aang, and you will bring peace, and restore balance in the world.”

“W-wait!” Zuko stuttered, “Why did you show this to him? To _us_? You said he needed to know this before I taught him firebending! Why?”

“Aah, young Zuko, you are right to ask these things...there is one final piece to this puzzle,” Roku turned as a new scene appeared of what looked like a Fire Nation nursery.

An unfamiliar woman with long dark hair and warm eyes sat in a rocking chair, holding another infant in her lap, wrapped in a red and gold blanket this time. The door opened and an elderly Ta Min walked in.

“Mother!” the strange woman greeted happily as Ta Min bent to kiss her cheek then bent to coo at the baby. 

She placed a hand on her heart, “Thank Agni I have lived to see the birth of my first granddaughter...What is her name, dear?”

“Ursa,” the woman said happily.

Sokka felt confused as both Zuko and Katara gasped loudly. 

Zuko stepped forward as if he could touch the child, but the scene shifted before he could and they were back in a more lavishly decorated Fire Nation bedroom. 

Another unfamiliar woman with similar dark chocolate hair and warm gold eyes was resting against a pile of pillows.

She was obviously very beautiful despite her pale complexion and the sweat dripping down her forehead. She looked tired bu was smiling warmly at the small bundle in her arms.

Sokka had to lean forward to catch the tuft of black hair underneath. The child seemed much smaller than the last two they’d seen.

  
Suddenly, the woman gasped, looking up with some sort of tension in her face as the door slammed open. 

“Leave us,” a cold masculine voice rang out, causing the various handmaidens surrounding the bed to scurry out of the room.

The tall, imposing man wore the clothing Sokka could now identify as Fire Nation royalty, and he swept towards the woman’s bedside.

Behind him a number of Fire Sages entered the room.

The man lent down to place a perfunctory kiss on the woman’s cheek, though Sokka noticed the way she stiffened. 

“I hear you have borne me a son, Ursa” he said, though he sounded unenthusiastic, not at all like Sokka imagined a new father would act.

She nodded and Sokka abruptly realized that “Ursa” meant _this_ was the same baby girl he’d just seen a minute ago all grown up. 

_So trippy_ , he thought.

“Would you like to hold him?” Ursa asked. The man’s lip curled slightly before he grabbed the child and examined him closely, though there was little warmth in his gaze.

“I see no spark in his eyes,” he growled, barely audible. 

One of the Fire Sages stepped forward, cautiously, “Your Highness, these things can always develop-”

The man cut him off harshly, openly glaring at the child now, “A nonbender for a firstborn is a blight upon this family-”

_Harsh_ , Sokka cringed thinking of his own lack of bending.

“Ozai-” the woman straightened her back, though Sokka could tell the movement pained her and then he remembered that “Ozai” meant…

_Oh Spirits, it can’t be_ , Sokka thought.

He turned to Zuko, but his numb, shocked face confirmed Sokka’s worst nightmare. 

“-Ozai, please, let us wait and see-” she tried in vain as Ozai’s face became more and more rigid.

He turned his glare to his wife and hissed, “This is a _runt_ . This thing is _lucky to have been born_ at all... _The union of our bloodlines was supposed to create a powerful heir.”_

Sokka wanted to bodily shove the man away from Ursa and the child, but before he could have moved, Ozai had carried the gurgling infant over towards the window, holding it up high. 

“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t cast him over the palace walls,” he growled as Katara and Aang both let out a strangled yelp, watching on in absolute horror. Toph looked pale even in spirit form listening the the man’s cruel words.

“Your Highness,” another Fire Sage stepped forward as Ursa let out a small strangled scream, grabbing blindly at her child.

”It is fortuitous to have a son at all, and as you said, the union of your bloodlines is prophesied...surely Agni will smile down on this child as he grows..”

With great pains, Ursa managed to extricate herself from the bed and prostrate herself at Ozai’s feet. 

“I beg of you, show him mercy...for my sake if not his.”

Ozai stared down at his disheveled and shaking wife, and his eyes did not soften exactly, but he moved away from the open window.

“Fine,” Ozai gestured for one of the servant girls to come back in and take the now crying baby away. But Ursa stood shakily and gestured to take the babe back herself, clinging to him closely, hushing him and rocking him.

The man paid little attention as he turned on his heel and began to exit the chamber altogether. Right before he left, he turned around and asked Ursa, “And what is his name?

Sokka was impressed at how dignified Ursa managed to look in just her nightgown, still sweaty and disheveled from labor, tears visible. But she kept her back straight and stared her husband down coldly, keeping a level voice as she held the child closely, looking ready to fight the man off should he try to touch her son again.  
  


“Zuko.”

  
  
  



	19. The Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short filler angst ftw
> 
> tw for anxiety/panic attack

Zuko’s spirit form sunk to the floor. Even without a body, he felt he could not stand after having witnessed the moment his father chose to hate him.

_ I never had a chance _ , he thought numbly.

He could feel himself shaking as he stood again with great effort and turned to Avatar Roku, voice hoarse and angry, “Why would you show that?”

The old Avatar’s voice was sympathetic as he looked down at Zuko. 

“You had to understand, Prince Zuko,” he flinched hearing his own name, spoken only moments ago as an afterthought for his own father who’d  _ tried to kill him _ . 

“-You have to understand your dual heritage.”

He shook his head, not ready to accept what he’d just seen play out oh so vividly in front of his eyes. 

“I’m Sozin’s heir!” he said, since that was the only thing that he knew was true. This, at least, was a fact he could stand on. 

“Yes,” said Roku patiently, “and you are my great-grandson also.” Zuko wanted to flinch as the Avatar’s form, his  _ great-grandfather on his mother’s side _ , placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature, your  _ legacy _ . But, there is a bright side.” Zuko looked up, still struggling to breathe through the panic of this revelation. 

“What happened generations ago can be resolved  _ now _ , by  _ you _ . Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all the strife, is the power to restore balance to the world.” 

He turned to Aang who had tears streaming down his young face, “And you must work with the Avatar to do so.”

Aang tried to catch his eyes, but Zuko pressed his closed, wishing everything would just fade away. 

He got his wish because suddenly, the ground beneath them became more dense, more solid, and when he opened his eyes, Roku was gone and they were back on the barren ash-eaten island they’d watch get destroyed in front of them. 

The sun felt too hot and bright against his skin and Zuko’s legs gave out once more, though he was too numb, body coursing with adrenaline, to feel the impact. 

“Zuko…” a tentative voice spoke to him beyond the rushing in his ears, but he was too deep inside himself to discern who it was. 

He felt hands settle on top of his shoulders and saw a flash of familiar brown hair he recognized as Katara’s. 

But after just having seen his mother, seeing how his grandmother and great grandmother had shared her dark brown locks, her eyes,  _ his  _ eyes, how they’d been passed down, it was all too much. 

There were too many conflicting memories, overlapping, all the good and the bad, his mother’s face, his father’s words,  _ lucky to be born, lucky to be born, lucky to be born _ …

“Zuko, you have to breathe for me, in and out…..in and out…..in and out, there you go…”

Zuko tried to time his breaths to her words, though each breath still felt raw in his chest. He dropped his head to the ground, just trying to make it all stop. 

“...his heartbeat’s still way too fast…”

“I know…..don’t know…...yes, of course…”

“..Aang..what are you?.....”

Somebody manhandled him back up, so that he had no choice but to face the person in front of him. He cautiously let his eyes open and saw Aang sitting in front of him, cross-legged. 

“Hey, Zuko? Watch this with me, will you?”

Attention caught, Zuko blearily peered at Aang’s palm which he now held extended upwards in between them. A small flame burst out. 

“This is how you do it, right? In and out…..In and out…” Aang matched his breaths to his words in an exaggerated manner and eventually trailed off, letting the small flame grow and fall in rhythm. 

Without noticing it, Zuko fell into the familiar pattern, breathing in and out in time to the flame, matching his breath with Aang’s. 

He suddenly became very aware of his shameful display of weakness. 

He peered at the others, cheeks burning, head more clear. “I-I’m sorry, I don’t know why I-”

He was cut off as Sokka ran forward and flung himself around Zuko in a tight squeeze, burying his head into his shoulder. He was caught off guard by such an overt display of affection from Sokka of all people. 

“Uhh...thanks, I guess.”

Over his shoulder, he saw Katara approach, eyes red and puffy as she sat next to Aang in front of him and grabbed Zuko’s hand. 

Finally, Toph hugged him from the other side until they were all in some odd semblance of a group hug with Zuko at the center. 

“We’re going to fix everything together, Zuko,” Aang promised. “It’s not all on you.”

“But Roku said-”

  
“We’re in this  _ together _ .” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, I just recycled Iroh's og lines about his destiny because they were TOO good not to use


	20. The Training

“ _Lower_.”

Aang groaned loudly, lips turned down in a frown, but he bent his knees even further, legs spread in a wide stance, hands fisted at his side.

“It burns my legs!” he whined.

“That’s the point,” Zuko smiled internally, enjoying bossing Aang around. He should’ve started teaching him firebending a long time ago. He finally understood Toph’s power trip moments when she taught earthbending. 

“It’s supposed to burn...to imitate fire?” Aang asked curiously from his beginner Horse Stance

Zuko snorted, “No, it’s just because you didn’t stretch enough before you started.” 

Zuko had to restrain himself from adding a _dummy_ at the end, because it just reminded him too much of Azula teasing him, making him both nauseous and nostalgic. 

“Well, can I do some fire punches from here?” the boy perked up, and Zuko rolled his eyes. 

“Not until you go lower than _that_.”

“But I can’t!” Aang argued, sounding a bit petulant for the bridge between worlds. Maybe it was because Zuko had woken him up at sunrise. 

“Then you’ll need to start stretching more and practicing to improve your flexibility. Think of the flexibility and fluidity you channel for your waterbending,” Aang nodded, “Now think of solid, immovable earthbending stances. Your firebending has to fall somewhere in the middle between rigid and adaptable!”

“I guess so,” Aang shrugged. “So what now?”

“Hold that stance.”

“For how long?” Aang whined

“Until I say ‘stop’,” Zuko smirked and turned to walk back towards the campfire.

“Hey!” Aang cried, “Where are you going?”

Zuko smiled this time, “I’m going to get breakfast,” he put on a faux chipper voice.

“But what-”

“If you don’t break your stance, I might bring you a bowl.”

“Zuko!!” Aang glared at his retreating back, but to his credit did not break his stance.

* * *

“Here’s some porridge,” Zuko handed Aang the small wooden bowl as the airbender collapsed on the ground, legs shaking. 

* * *

“Is this low enough for you, Sifu Hotman?” Aang grumbled.

Zuko grumbled, “I told you not to call me that!” He could hear Sokka laughing at him as he passed on the way back to his tent after a hunt.

He sighed and dropped back into his own practiced stance.

“Yes, it’s low enough...Time to work on your punching technique.”

“Yay!! Fire punch time!!” Aang’s petulant stare dropped to one of pure childish excitement.

“No fire, just punch,” he countered, starting to demonstrate the alternating punches.

Aang still smiled, watching Zuko and copying his controlled movements. 

“Good enough for me.”

* * *

“...Well all I know about lava bending is what you all saw from Avatar Roku’s vision. Your..well uh Sozin,” Aang glanced shyly at Zuko.

They hadn’t really discussed all that it meant for him to be the heir of a former Avatar _and_ the world’s worst warmonger. 

“-he did it like we saw, but it doesn’t sound like the way Sokka and Katara described you doing it...Katara said it looked sort of like you were earthbending.”

Zuko shrugged shyly, still embarrassed at the exaggerated retelling Sokka had given Toph and Aang, even though he technically hadn’t witnessed the action itself. 

He and Katara had just shared a smile and let Sokka regale the group around the campfire with his exaggerated hand motions and sound effects. 

Toph had then asked Zuko to show her the stance, and he’d try to recreate his “grand lavabending adventure” as Sokka dubbed it while she poked him in the ribs and commented on his stance like she’d do for Aang. 

Zuko re-focused as Aang said something else, “It’s really interesting...and what you said your Uncle taught you, that lightning redirection inspired by waterbending...it seems like you’re experimenting with...I don’t know _crossbending_.” 

He perked up, “It’s kind of Avatar-y if you think about it!”

“I’m not the Avatar!” Zuko snapped, getting annoyed by all the expectations in his younger friend’s eyes. 

It made him uncomfortable..he was more used to _disappointment_ in his bending, not all this... _respect_. 

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Aang placated, “but you _are_ part of Roku’s line,” Zuko frowned but shrugged in acknowledgement. He had conflicted feelings about that.

He was annoyed Roku had dropped that bombshell on him out of nowhere in front of everyone, but...he had to admit it gave him some hope. 

That he had an inheritance and legacy outside of Sozin’s, of his _father’s_. 

As bad as his father was, he also had his mother’s blood in him. 

For all the things he’d done, he still had good in him. Uncle knew. Aang had seen it. Then Katara and the others.

“Yeah...yeah I am.”

* * *

“Hey, uhh,” he scratched the back of his neck, “can I...watch?”

Zuko approached Katara and Aang who were waterbending in the shallows of the river they were camping on.

He saw Katara blush slightly and was reminded that she was dressed only in her under wrappings.

“Err...to help my...to uhhh….Aang mentioned crossbending, and my Uncle developed his lightning redirection by studying waterbenders so I uh wanted to watch you..do _that_..”

Katara looked like she was trying not to laugh, but Aang showed mercy, “Sure, Zuko! Glad to have you! Get in the water, it’s nice!”

The knot in Zuko’s chest unraveled just a little bit more. Zuko used to worry that Aang’s jealousy over him “stealing” Katara would put a permanent dent in their friendship, but ever since they’d left their fire nation ship disguise behind, Aang seemed to have turned over a new leaf.

And after Roku’s crazy spirit trip and the ensuing commencement of firebending training, he felt closer to the boy than he’d ever imagined he could. _The Avatar_ of all people.

He blushed thinking about how badly he’d always wanted his friendship deep down ever since he’d rejected it in the forest outside Pohuai. 

So he smiled gratefully as he stripped down to his underwear, studiously avoiding Katara’s eyes, and wading waist deep into the water, sighing as the cool water touched his sun warmed skin.

Katara and Aang continued their simple daily routine, running through the basic movements like they did whenever Aang needed a break from his more difficult bending. Zuko floated peacefully, keeping and eye on the sparring. He was equally entranced by the water bending and the master water bender.

He watched the way Katara moved her arms like a wave and the water responded, rising in front of her and before she sent the wall flowing toward Aang who dissipated it and sent back his own wall.

Not a blast or a punch...a _wave_ , he thought. I could do that motion, create a wall or wave of fire to push forward.

He watched Katara shoot out some ice disks and wondered if he could make his fire hold that form long enough to project.

* * *

“You’re quieter than twinkle toes used to be,” Toph teased as Zuko stood by, watching her send boulders crashing into the cliff face near their camp.

“Well you’re not throwing those at _me_ ,” he reasoned.

“ _Yet_ ,” she smirked. “So why have you come to spy on the greatest earthbender alive?”

He didn’t feel like elaborating on his real reason so he shrugged.

“I’m bored, Katara and Aang are training, Sokka is off hunting again.”

“Fair enough.”

_Blam_.

Another boulder made impact.

“Uh...why do you put your foot back like that?”

“Excuse me?”

“I just...let’s say I did that with my firebending....”

Toph grinned “Well _now_ you’re talking, Sparky!”

* * *

Katara frowned at the charred craters on the side of the cliff face.

Toph was destructive enough without Zuko getting in on the fun and helping her by fanning the flames. Pun intended.

He’d sent several flaming balls of fire the size of a small comet crashing into the rockface like Toph did with her own boulders.

But then Zuko himself bounced over to her looking more excited than he had since the Roku fiasco.

“Are you down to spar? There’s a new move I want to try! And it’s based on what you did earlier with Aang...”

He explained his idea, and she had to admit she was curious to see if it would work. And she thought he looked cute when he got all eager like that. 

* * *

“So…” she hedged, having just encased a fire dagger Zuko had sent (reminiscent of her flying ice daggers) with water, putting it out. 

“Yeah?” he asked, panting with exertion. She was also covered in sweat, but felt flushed with excitement and endorphins as they were both beginning to play with some new moves inspired by each other. 

“It just...well, it seems like you’re starting to embrace this whole...Avatar heritage thing more now?”

“Yeah...I think I am,” he nodded to himself, sitting down on a nearby rock to catch his breath as she sat next to him to join him. 

“That’s good, I’m proud of you,” she put her arm around his bare back and leaned against his side, ignoring the stick of both their sweat.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, sagging into her in turn. 

“You know, I never knew anything about my mother’s family or where she came from...and it wasn’t until I lost her that I realized how little I knew about her to begin with.”

Katara gave him a squeeze. 

“Sometimes I worry that if I don’t remember my mother and keep her memory alive, no one else will.” 

She nodded, “I have Sokka and my Dad and even Gran Gran, but...it hurts, when it feels like no one else wants to remember the way you do. To realize everyone else has already moved on, and you don’t know if you ever will..”

It was his turn to nod. He pulled her mother’s necklace out of his pants pocket and handed it to her, as she distractedly ran it back and forth between her fingers. 

“Do you have anything to remember her by..Ursa I mean?” Katara mumbled, recalling the beautiful woman from Roku’s vision. 

She’d been full of grace and strength and compassion, and that’s what Katara saw in Zuko’s face, none of his awful father.

“The Blue Spirit mask...It was hers actually. I told you how she took us to see plays on Ember Island, and she’s the reason I got into theater in the first place..”

Katara squeezed his hand. “Maybe one day you can take me to see a play with you.”

“I’d like that,” he smiled at her.

“That way..” Katara hesitated, unsure how to phrase it, “I can also help..keep her memory alive. I didn’t _know_ her, but from what little I saw of her, I know she was a strong woman like..like _my_ mother.” 

She sighed wistfully, “Maybe we can help each other share the burden of remembering…”

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her shoulder, holding her close. She thought about the burdens they’d both carried since childhood, and how maybe now that they were sharing them with one another….maybe their inheritances could be less of a burden and more of a gift. 

A gift to share with each other and a burden to carry together.

Maybe in helping Zuko embrace his own heritage, she could begin to make peace with her own. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *edited on 7/17 bc I realized I called Aang "the bald boy" when at this point in the story he's grown his hair back out, and I don't want too many plotholes lol


	21. The Headpiece

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> big fan of the "all animals love Zuko" hc

Zuko held his arm up so the messenger hawk could land. He picked up the message held in its talons and eagerly unfurled it, hoping for news of Uncle. 

He read it quickly, sighing a bit at the vague information and mysterious sayings Uncle was always sprouting. All Zuko knew was that Iroh had “found some friends” who would “help him with his goal” which Sokka had told him was reconquering Ba Sing Se. 

Zuko had no idea how Uncle and a rag tag group of old gasbags could do such a feat, but he had faith in the man.

After all, Uncle was the only one who’d had faith in him while he was banished. It was time he returned the favor and the patience. 

He frowned when the messenger hawk pecked at him impatiently.

“I haven’t got a response yet-” he started when he saw something else was attached to the bird’s other leg.

“What’s this?” He detached what looked like a small satchel with a separate note enclosed inside. 

He read the words written there: “Dearest Nephew, I am sorry you had to see such disturbing images firsthand, but I am glad that you can now understand your dual heritage and the importance of embracing both of your bloodlines. You are the one who will redeem our family, and you deserve to have this.”

Zuko set the strip of parchment down and looked back into the little pouch. He pulled out something small and hard and his eyes widened when he realized what it was. 

“Whatcha got there?” Sokka meandered over towards him where he was still standing by the river, messenger bird nipping affectionately at his hair and sitting on his shoulder now. 

“Hello there, Hawky-” Sokka greeted the bird before Zuko responded. 

“It’s a Royal Fire Nation artifact, the headpiece of the Crown Prince...the one we saw Sozin give Roku…” 

Zuko stared hard at the object, turning it over and over in his hands the way Katara had held her mother’s necklace the day before, like it was precious. 

“Oh,” Sokka looked at a loss for words, “Wow, okay. That’s cool, right?”

Zuko nodded, placing the headpiece back in the cloth. 

“You’re not gonna wear it?” Sokka hedged, eyeing Zuko’s profile as Zuko began petting the hawk’s back feather, thinking. 

“I’m not the Crown Prince anymore,” he shrugged. It was true. Azula was his father’s chosen heir. After watching his father’s reaction to him as an infant, he knew birth order meant nothing to the man. 

“I guess,” Sokka frowned, seeming unsure what to say. “Hey! You wanna spar?”

Zuko saw right through the attempt at distraction, but he agreed pretty happily, deciding he could wait till that evening to write his response to Uncle. 

While all his experimental bending training with the others was exciting, he missed some good old fashioned sword fighting. Besides, Sokka was getting genuinely good and Zuko always enjoyed their sparring sessions, almost as much as he enjoyed sparring with Katara. 

He rubbed his finger under the hawk’s chin, to the bird’s delight before carefully moving him into his tent, setting him down on his bedroll. 

Sokka hovered behind him, waiting and snorted when he watched Zuko push his blanket up to make a little nest for the messenger hawk. 

“Gonna tuck in your pet bird now?”

Zuko just nodded, petting the hawk again. 

Sokka snorted fondly. “What is it with you and animals? Why do they love _you_ and _hate_ me?”

Zuko shrugged, following his friend back through the flaps of the tent towards the open field near their campsite. 

“They're smart, I guess.”

Zuko chuckled as Sokka cuffed him upside the head. 

* * *

The others ooh’d and ahh’d over the headpiece when he showed it to them around the campsite after dinner. 

Eventually Sokka piped up, “You know, we haven’t talked much about how _Aang_ is kinda like Zuko’s great grandfather, right?”

Toph snorted while Zuko scowled, and even Katara, the traitor giggled. 

Aang jumped up and wandered over to Zuko where he was perched on a log. He picked up a stick and leaned over, pretending to use it like a walking stick, stroking his chin like there was a long beard there and spoke in an overly exaggerated “old person” manner.

“Come over here, young whipper-snapper and help your great great grand pops out,” he reached out a hand to Zuko, but he just swatted it away. 

“That’s no way to treat your elders, young man!”

Zuko growled, “You’re _twelve-_ ”

“You youngins these days, give your gramps a hug,” Aang leaned towards Zuko to do so, but Zuko expertly dodged, standing up just in time. 

Sokka, Toph, and Katara cackled as Aang began to chase Zuko around the campfire, insisting he give him a hug. 

Eventually, Sokka ended the chase by tripping Zuko so that Aang could jump on top of him, shortly followed by the others creating a dogpile that made Zuko feel both smothered and incredibly happy. He couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. 

“Alright, alright, moment over, get off me now”

“Not until you tell your gramps how much you love him!”

“Fuck off!” Zuko laughed, slightly breathless underneath all his friends. 

“Close enough,” Sokka chuckled while the others crawled off. 

Katara gave Zuko a hand to pull him to his feet. 

Her eyes were mirthful, but her voice serious when she leaned in to ask him, “They didn’t hurt you did they?”

“No,” he reassured her. “I’m good.”

And that night, he really was.


	22. The River

“-- _Oh, sorry. Did I splash you, Mud-Slug_?”

_Huh_? Sokka thought as he and Zuko meandered over to where Toph and Katara were both handling Aang’s fight training for the day. 

They had just finished some morning sword fighting themselves, and even though he felt rather bruised up, Sokka was in good spirits and curious as they both hid behind a rock to watch what was going on with their friends. 

As they watched, Katara created an ice ramp, while Toph created her own earth ramp, both proceeding to head straight for each other. They crashed and both of the girls went flying.

“Yikes,” Sokka mumbled, mostly resigned to the fighting. 

Katara had been a bit more mellow since Zuko had joined them, and he hadn’t seen the two girls go at each other like this since Toph first joined their group, but he wasn’t looking forward to round two.

“Are we taking a break?” Aang, blindfolded, asked curiously. 

Meanwhile, Sokka had a brilliant idea and grinned to himself. He elbowed Zuko. “Hey watch this!” he whispered before charging at Aang.

“Sneak Attack!” He screamed, plowing towards the young boy when all of a sudden he felt his body slam into a solid wall. A second later the wall crumbled to bits and he staggered back towards the ground, head spinning a bit. 

He blearily looked up to see Aang raise his blindfold and turn to face him and lecture, “Sokka, sneak attacks don't work if you yell it out loud.”

Sokka held back some choice words while Zuko walked forward to help him out of the dust. 

All three boys turned their heads when they heard a series of squawks coming from their right to see Katara and Toph wrestling in a puddle of mud. He groaned. 

“Hungry for a mud pie?” Sokka almost laughed as Toph kicked mud into Katara’s face.

It _was_ immature, but he _was_ a sibling after all. 

His sister angrily wiped the mud flecks off her cheek and gave Toph an all too familiar glare that promised retribution, “I'll give _you_ a mud pie!”

Katara waterbent a stream of mud at Toph, knocking her down, but the younger girl quickly got up and earthbent a rock pillar underneath Katara, which sent her flying toward a wall. 

“Should we intervene?” Zuko asked worriedly, never really having seen Katara and Toph at their worst, but Sokka just shook his head. 

“It’s just something they have to work out between themselves.”

Zuko frowned and Aang sighed. _It might be a long week for them all._

Aang called out to them, “Uh guys, I thought we were supposed to be training _me_.”

Katara stepped out of the mud daintily, despite dripping sludge all over. 

“Very well, pupil,” she said in a purposely measured tone, “I believe we've had enough training for today.”

Then, with as much dignity as she could muster, she turned around to walk back to the river and clean up. 

All Toph had to do was earthbend the muck off her. “While Katara cleans up,” she said, turning to Sokka, Zuko, and Aang, “let's go have some fun!”

“Yeah!” Aang said, glad to skive off his training for a bit. 

Sokka was also looking forward to exploring this new town. Zuko had told him Fire Fountain city was more industrial than any of the outer island cities they’d been to so far, and Sokka was excited to see what the infrastructure and engineering looked like up close. 

He shot a quick, guilty look at his sister who Toph was obviously not inviting and felt relieved when Zuko said, “I think I’ll stay behind..It’s a bigger city, and there’s a bigger risk of me getting recognized.”

Toph shrugged, “Have it your way, _you’re_ the one who has to deal with Miss Fussy Britches if you stay.”

And with that, Toph dragged Sokka towards the city. 

* * *

Katara bent the water from the river to wash the mud off her body, out of her clothes, her hair. 

But she was so angry, her movements were too jerky to be as efficient as they'd normally be.

The mud was deeply caked in her long, now unbraided hair, and it made her want to cry in frustration. 

Toph just made her _so mad_ sometimes. She was so belligerent and ungrateful and could be unnecessarily cruel. 

Katara knew she _also_ said hurtful things sometimes, but sometimes she didn’t know how to defend herself unless she went on the offense. 

She was fighting in a war that she felt she’d been fighting in some form or another her whole life, and sometimes she had trouble not fighting even when things were calm.

She didn’t always know how to turn it on and off. 

Out of her periphery, she watched Zuko hesitantly approach her on the bank. She was grateful when he didn’t say anything immediately, just sat down near her, dipping his feet in the water with her. 

She’d heard the others wander off towards the city and had been glad for the space, though she didn’t mind Zuko’s presence as much. She knew he’d back off and give her space if she needed him to, so she continued bending water over her skirt and legs, though they were already very wet and mostly clean now.

At this point, she was just soothing herself with the familiar rinsing motion. 

“Are you okay?” he asked eventually. 

She nodded, a bit surprised. She’d expected him to ask her about the fight or why she’d gotten so mad. 

_Though of all people_ , she thought, _Zuko understands having a quick temper and bottled up rage_. 

“I will be,” she combed her hair with her fingers, sighing as she found tangles, “once I get all this mud out of my hair and brush it.” 

She was not looking forward to this. Her hair had always been thick and difficult to keep organized, which is why she’d always worn it in her signature plait growing up. 

“I could..help you with it?”

She turned her head to look at Zuko, confused. “With what?”

He blushed, “brushing your hair, I mean...sometimes I used to help brush my mom’s when I was little..even though we had servants, she...well, she did it because it made me feel special, I guess.” 

He looked embarrassed, and Katara smirked thinking about what a momma’s boy Zuko had been. It was sweet. 

“Uh..yeah, that’d be nice actually,” and it was the more she thought about it. “Can you go grab my brush from my bag? I’m going to soak it in the water first so it’s less sticky.”

He nodded and after he left, she peeled off her halter top and skirt, leaving her in her underwrappings as she lowered herself into the water ignoring the chill that erupted across her arms. 

The water felt nice against the tropical air around them once she adjusted. She closed her eyes and sunk below the surface, letting her hair float above her head before coming up for air. She did this several times before she was sure most of the dirt was gone. 

The clean feeling made her sigh in relief. 

Zuko returned, holding her old whale bone comb in his hand. She’d kept that one since it helped remind her of home. It was the little things that made her homesick, but also the little things that brought her comfort. 

He sat down on the bank again, legs in the mild current. She waded back over to him, situating herself between his legs and turning to face the same direction, still seated in the water in front of him. 

She felt him gingerly gather a section in the back, fisting it tight, so that as he began to pull the comb through the ends it did not tug her scalp painfully. 

“Is this alright?”

“Yes,” she said softly, not wanting to break the moment with words, enjoying the quiet intimacy of the action. 

Pretty soon he’d brushed most of the back of her hair which was still damp, but soft and untangled as it floated lazily around her shoulders, and tickling his calves. He pulled some of the front strands back to brush those before letting them fall, all finished. 

She turned silently to face him, freshly brushed hair clinging to her bare shoulders as she braced her elbows on the bank between them. 

He leaned down as she arched her back to bring herself closer to him, breath hitching, and they fell together into a deep kiss.

She sighed into it as Zuko ran his fingers through the hair he’d just brushed out, and she tugged at him unconsciously, willing him to come closer to her. Zuko obliged by pulling back then sliding his body off the bank into the water next to her. 

She immediately pulled him back into a kiss, using their new proximity to kiss his shoulder and run her hands through his hair, getting it just as wet as her own, enjoying the thought of how mussed it would look later. 

Though she was distracted by the way his hand ran down her bare back and cupped her backside softly. She ran her fingers down his back over his now soaked tunic top before deciding it was too cumbersome and began to pull at his top.

He immediately caught on and untied it in the front, pulling it off in one swoop and tossing the soaked top back on the bank before wrapping his arms around her again. This time, she could run her fingers over his bare back as well, admiring the feel of his shoulder blades and the back muscles she’d often admired while watching him train. 

Now, they were flexed from a very different kind of exertion as he placed his arms behind her thighs and pulled up as she obligingly wrapped her calves around the back of his thighs and her arms around his shoulders, buoyed by the water around them. 

Katara blushed madly as she felt herself unconsciously rocking her hips back and forth in a rhythm and kissing Zuko in time, making him gasp and pull back a bit. 

“Katara-” he looked her right in the eye, serious, though she was distracted by her own desire to keep kissing him. 

“What?”

“I...My life has been so much better since...y-you’re the most..I uh…” She scrunched her eyebrows, silently begging him to get to the point, “what I mean is….you’re so important to me, and I’d never want you to feel obligated to agree to anything because we’ve...well I uh what I mean is... _willyoubemygirlfriend?_ ” he blurted out the last bit. 

Katara paused, feeling a bit shell shocked.

Not so much about the concept of being his girlfriend. In all honesty, she’d begun to think of him as her boyfriend a long time ago, and she had no problem making it official now. 

What surprised her was the timing. 

“ _Yes_ , but why now?”

His good eye widened. “ _Yes_ ? Wait- What do you mean _why now?_ ”

“Why did you ask me _now_ ?” she cocked her head quizzically, analyzing his face, “There’ve just been so many moments before that…” _I was beginning to think this wasn’t what you wanted_. 

He shrugged, looking confused himself. “I-I don’t know, I just saw you covered in mud yelling at Toph then turning around and pretending like everything was alright, like nothing had even happened and being all bossy-”

_This isn’t where I thought he was going with this_.

“-and I just had this moment, where I was watching you stomp away dripping mud, head high, stubborn and proud and just _so you_ , and I just thought about how much I loved you and-”

Her heart stuttered to a pause, and she dropped her arms from his neck. 

A look of pure fear crossed his face as he immediately let her go, stepping back from her, “Oh Agni, I mean- I didn’t mean _that_ \- I mean I _did_ mean it, but I didn’t mean to _say-_ ”

“Y-you _love_ me?” Katara’s eyes prickled as she pulled back to look at him. 

“Er...No?” Zuko winced, hugging his arms to his bare chest. 

Katara let out a wet laugh because Zuko had always been such a bad liar. 

“ _I love you too_ ,” she whispered, and she tried to memorize the shell shocked look on Zuko’s face as she pulled him back down to her, enveloping him in another long kiss. 

In that moment, she didn’t particularly mind if the others never made it back to camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👀 👀 👀


	23. The Scam

Katara and Zuko had decided not to tell anyone about their official change in relationship status yet. They’d both agreed that while Aang had matured a bit more in the past few weeks, he might still have some unresolved jealousy, and regardless, his training was the top priority. 

They didn’t want to provide too much of a distraction...not yet at least.

Zuko had told Katara that Aang was just starting to get the hang of his firebending, and soon he’d be able to move beyond the most basic set of katas and begin really using his fire in a more offensive way.

Katara was glad about Aang’s progress, though she was still having trouble with Toph. 

The two couldn’t stop snapping at each other, especially after Katara learned about Toph dragging Aang and Sokka into several scams.

And while she hardly cared about turning the tables on one side street scam artist, she didn’t think they should indulge Toph’s penchant for needless danger and reckless abandon.

The girl was obviously just trying to get back at her parents in any way she could, and Katara sort of understood, but she was getting too old for this ridiculous teenage rebellion, even though she was only just turning 15.

Her birthday was actually coming up soon, but none of the others would know except Sokka, and she didn’t really expect him to remember.

She told herself she didn’t care anyways, but between bracing for that disappointment and worrying over whether Toph’s scamming was putting them (and Zuko especially) in danger, her temper was shaky at best.

Zuko backed her up in private, but tried to stay neutral in front of the others, and tensions were running high. 

She really wasn’t surprised when they finally broke in the messiest way possible all over the campsite.

Katara stood up as she heard telltale footfalls of Toph and Sokka.

“Where have you two been? Off scamming again?” She asked darkly.

“Yes, we were,” Toph was shameless as she dropped her bag down in the dust.

“And I suppose you don't think what you're doing is dangerous at all?”

“No, I don't.” _The nerve._

“Really?”

Toph just buckled down, “Yes. Really.”

“Well then.” _I gave her a chance_ , she thought, “What's _this_?” 

She pulled out the wanted poster of Toph stuffed in her pocket.

“I don't know! I mean, seriously! What is with you people? I'm blind!” She pointed at her eyes and pulled down her bottom eyelids to emphasize her words.

Katara felt a small flush of embarrassment at the mistake.

“It's a wanted poster! Of you!! _The Runaway!_ Is that what you're called now? Are you _proud_ of this?”

Toph scowled, “Where did you get that!?”

In truth, Zuko had mentioned seeing it from Sokka, and she’d gone looking to see for herself, but she didn’t want to implicate him, so she just sniffed, “It doesn't matter where I got it. The fact is-“

“You went through my stuff! You had no right!”

As if Toph’s stuff was ever more than a chaotic pile of mess for Katara to clean up wherever they went.

“Your _stuff_ was messy and I was just straightening up, and I happened to stumble across it!”

“That's a lie!” The earth bender jabbed a finger at her, “You're lying, Katara!”

Katara was surprised for a minute until she remembered the heartbeat thing. She was as good of a liar as Zuko.

She shoved Toph’s finger from her face, “Fine! It's a lie! But you've been so out of control lately, I knew something was up! I knew you were hiding something and you were!”

She shook the paper for emphasis, but Toph grabbed it and began stomping away like the spoiled brat she was.

“Don't you walk away from me while I'm talking to you!”

Toph turned to scream back at her, and Katara noticed the boys nervously watching their feud play out nearby, “Oh _really_ , Mom? Or what are you gonna do? Send me to my room?”

The way she said mom like an insult felt like a slap in the face, but Katara powered on, “I wish I could!”

“Well you can't! Because you're _not_ my mom, and you're not _their_ mom!”

Katara’s gaze followed Toph’s arm as it gestured at Aang and Sokka, and even Zuko.

She bristled, embarrassed they were getting dragged into this. 

“I never said I was!”

Zuko stood, “I don’t-“ 

Toph ignored him, “No, but you certainly _act_ like it! You think it's your job to boss everyone around, but it's not! You're just a regular kid like the rest of us! So stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!” She screamed.

“I don't act that way!” She turned to Sokka who’d known her the longest, “Sokka, do I act motherly?” She frowned as he flinched. 

Then he put his hands up defensively. “Hey. I'm staying out of this one.” She wished he would back her up for once but sighed in defeat, turning to Aang.

“What do you think, Aang? Do I act like a mom?”

Aang rubbed his eye, “Well. I, uh-“

God, Katara couldn’t stand how _spineless_ they were sometimes, “Stop rubbing your eye and speak clearly when you talk!” She snapped.

He and Sokka sat up straight like they’d been burned, “Yes, ma'am.”

She hated how they were proving Toph’s point and how she couldn’t seem to say anything without losing.

She hated everyone acting like they had to walk on eggshells around her.

Didn’t they realize it was exactly that attitude that made her so mad sometimes?

She turned to Zuko, her last resort, feeling desperate. He must’ve seen it in her eyes because he finally stood up again.

“Toph, Katara is just trying to make sure we all stay safe-“

Toph sneered, looking stung herself, “Of course you take _her_ side over mine! She may not mother you, but she still has you wrapped around her little finger because she has to control everyone all the time!”

“Zuko can form his own opinions, thank you very much, can’t you, Zuko?!”

“I-”

“I can't be around you right now!” Toph stomped.

“Well, I can't be around _you_!”

Toph began stomping towards the hills, so Katara spun and began storming in the opposite direction, coursing with anger and adrenaline...and beneath that a deep hurt.

She tried _so hard_ to take care of her family. 

She’d been trying to step up to fill the void her mother left since she was just a little kid, and it was so exhausting. It stung how little her efforts were appreciated sometimes.

Zuko at least helped her where he could, but Toph’s insinuation that Zuko was somehow her victim too stung, and she didn’t want his comfort this time.

She turned and shook her head at him where he was halfway between standing and following her.

She plopped down on a craggy rock overlook, hugged her knees to her chest and tried not to let her shoulders shake too obviously as she began to cry.

* * *

Katara needed to be in her element to calm down, but she didn’t want to stay by the river where Zuko had comforted her last time..She wanted to be truly alone, which is why she’d gone out of the way to find a lake beneath a cliff a ways away from their campground. 

And of course, it was why she heard Toph and Sokka’s footfalls on the cliff face above, just a little while after she’d stripped and begun to bathe. 

They gave no indication they knew she was there, so she just slunk further behind the shadow of the rock, silently listening to their voices as they echoed back down to her. 

“So lemme guess: You brought me out here to tell me that your sister's not as annoying as I make her out to be.”

“Nah, she's pretty much a pain,” she heard her brother’s voice and glared at his feet which she could see dangling over the mouth of the cave before glancing away, deflating. 

She knew Sokka _loved_ her, but maybe he disliked her too. 

He went on, “She's always got to be right about everything, and she gets all bossy and involved and in your business…”

_Involved in his business? Like mending his clothes and making his food?_ Katara fumed internally.

“Yeah. I don't know how you could deal with it,” Toph agreed. 

Katara was about to try to swim away or let them know she was there, so she wouldn’t have to listen to her brother talking badly about her behind her back, but then he spoke up again in a serious, reflective tone. 

“Actually, in a way, I rely on it.” She paused and looked back up at them. 

“I don't understand,” Toph said. _Me neither_ , thought Katara. 

“When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess,” Katara sucked in a breath at the onslaught of memories and instinctively reached towards her necklace that wasn’t there.

“-but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom.”

Katara stilled, throat feeling tight at the acknowledgement of a truth and burden she’d only ever acknowledged privately. 

“I guess I never thought about that.” Toph’s voice was more quiet and somber now too.

“I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before,” Katara imperceptibly moved closer to hear. 

“-Honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture.”

Katara felt the first tears slip from her eyes and dipped lower into the water, letting it cover her bare shoulders. She pulled her arms around her chest. 

She didn’t know how to feel about Sokka’s confession...he’d never told her that, but it confirmed what she’d said to Zuko the day before: sometimes she felt lonely in her mourning, like she was the only one left to truly remember. 

Sokka may not recall their mother’s face perfectly, but Katara could never rid her brain of the last sight of it, of eyes that looked like hers wide open in death and void of life. 

If her and Sokka’s roles had been reversed, he’d never forget that image either. No one could. 

Toph spoke up again, “The truth is sometimes Katara does act motherly, but that's not always a bad thing...She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me,” Katara couldn’t see but she could swear Toph’s voice wavered with some real emotions “You know, _the real me_. That's more than my own mom.”

Katara felt touched by Toph’s confession, one she knew the girl would never be able to tell Katara directly due to her pride.

A _thank you_ every now and then would be nice, but at least Katara now knew her family was grateful....even when they didn’t or couldn’t show it to her. 

They were both so prideful and stubborn. Katara felt a rush of understanding and affection for the younger girl. They were all just kids running from so many burdens. 

“Don't ever tell her I said any of this!” Katara imagined a classic Toph arm punch. 

“Hey, my lips are sealed.”

* * *

That night, Katara sat around the dying embers of the campfire, petting a napping Momo’s head and staring ahead without seeing. Aang and Zuko sat beside her, but were thankfully taking the hint to leave her be. 

Eventually, she saw Sokka and Toph walking toward her and stood up, approaching Toph. When they reached each other, they both paused, and Sokka kept walking, cating a quick glance at her before giving them some space and privacy.

“Hi, Toph. Um, I wanna-”

Toph held up her hand. “Katara, stop. You don't need to apologize. _I_ was the one being stupid. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them.”

Katara smiled, appreciating the apology. _Better late than never_. 

”Actually, I wasn't going to apologize. I was gonna say…” She took in a deep breath, confirming her resolve, “I wanna pull a scam with you.” 

Toph looked amusingly shocked, “What? _You_ wanna pull a scam? With me?”

At Toph’s exclamation, Sokka, Aang, and Zuko all turned towards her from the campfire, looking surprised. 

Katara, smirked, enjoying their surprise. “Not just any scam. The _ultimate scam_.” 

She turned to see Aang and Sokka looking like their brains were malfunctioning. Only Zuko seemed to have adapted to the news. Probably since he’d already seen Katara’s rebellious side up close and personal when they’d gone on their vigilante mission.

Katara turned back and put her arm around Toph's shoulder, who gave her a small, sly smile. 

“Whaddaya say, Toph? Just me and you. One last go. You in?”

Toph’s foggy eyes were bright with excitement, “You know I'm in! Now what's this idea of yours?”

* * *

Katara stood in the square of Fire Fountain City, realizing where it had gotten her name. There was a ginormous bronze statue of a menacing, ripped and shirtless Ozai with a continuous stream of flames pouring from his mouth. 

She eyed it in disgust, hating the gross display of narcissism and intimidation tactics. She was glad Zuko wasn’t here to see it. 

Moving on, she spun to the town authorities behind her who she’d dragged from the local station. “There she is! That’s the girl you want!”

On cue, Toph darted from behind the other side of the fountain before being caught in a net that was launched at her by one of the officers Katara had brought. 

Toph, turned to Katara, curled on the ground and cried out, “How could you do this to me? You betrayed me!”

Katara kept her face straight and crossed her arms, “You brought this on yourself. I had no choice.” Then she deliberately turned away from the glaring Toph who was being dragged away in the net. 

_I hope they’re not too rough with her_ , she frowned to herself. 

She allowed herself one slight glance back at Toph and smiled to herself at having the nerve to pull this off before turning to the Chief town authority. 

The man spoke to her in a gruff voice, “You did the right thing by turning in the Runaway.”

“The right thing is its own reward,” she said, grimacing at how sanctimonious it sounded, even to her. 

“Well, I'm happy to hear you say that,” the man said. There was a brief silence. 

“But, uh, I still want the _actual_ reward.”

The man startled slightly, “Of course. Right this way.”

She followed the officer back into a mundane office, where he began scrambling through a desk drawer. Katara resisted the urge to tap her foot impatiently at the lack of organization when suddenly the door behind her burst open. 

“That's her! That's the girl you were looking for!” she heard the officer yelled, immediately flinching at the obvious double cross as she eyed the newcomer in shock. 

He was a large, muscular man with no hair and a menacing pair of battle axes strapped across his back. She’d never seen him before, but he had the hard look of the kind of bounty hunters they’d been trying to avoid since they entered the Fire Nation. 

_Damn_ , she thought. 

There was nothing she could do as the man roughly grabbed her arm and began dragging her outside.

If she used her waterbending, she’d lose any shred of her disguise she had left. And it’s not like she had a good bending source on her. 

And anyways, she didn’t know exactly how this man had found her or what he thought she was wanted for. He might not know she was a waterbender. 

She staggered as she was pulled, brain spinning with possible plans of action. 

* * *

Katara was surprised as she was roughly shoved into a small wooden cell. She was even more confused as she tripped over the familiar figure of Toph. 

_What was she still doing in a cell?_ Katara thought before she realized they were surrounded by wood. 

Heavy footfalls let her know the bounty hunter had left them alone.

“Hey, it’s me,” she sat next to the younger girl. 

“Hey,” she said glumly, obviously feeling embarrassed or scared or both by her inability to escape that their scam had hinged on. 

Katara looked around at the holding room. 

“What kind of Fire Nation jail uses _wood_ ? Are they _idiots_?” Katara wondered aloud.

Toph just snorted, confirming where she stood on that last question. 

“And why are we both-” her unfocused gaze widened, “Wait! It's a trap!”

“Gee, what gave it away, the bounty hunters or the prison cell?” Katara murmured. 

“Not for us, Katara! We're the bait! He wants Aang!”

_Shit_. Katara's eyes widened in realization. That meant their true identity really had been discovered, and that the bounty hunter knew exactly who they were and their relationship to the Avatar.

This was bad. How long had they been vulnerable like this without realizing it?

“I can't believe I'm so stupid!” Katara balled her fists, wishing she’d just fought the bounty hunter immediately with her waterbending, but she had no one else to take out her fear and frustration on except Toph.

“See? This is _exactly_ why I'm against these scams! I _knew_ this would happen!” she vented. 

“But, this was your idea!” Toph complained. And Katara knew she was right, but...

“I know,” she sighed, “I wanted to show that I'm not so _motherly_. I wanted to show you that I can have fun too!” She pulled her knees to her chest.

“Katara, you are fun,” Katara tried to detect a lie or sarcasm, but came up short. “If nothing else, you're at least fun to argue with.”

She smiled a bit at that, regretting what she’d said in those very arguments at camp that past week. 

“Listen, Toph..I know your relationship with your parents is complicated. And I shouldn't have said anything, it’s none of my business..”

“It's okay. I was really mad when you meddled because...well because, maybe you’re right.”

Katara’s eyes widened as Toph clutched her own knees to her chest and began to quietly cry, “I try not to think about it, but when I left, I probably really hurt them.”

Katara wasted no time in scooting right next to Toph and pulling her into a tight hug. _To hell with seeming motherly_ , she thought. _My friend needs me_. 

She rubbed Toph’s back and thought about just how _young_ her friend was. She knew how much Toph hated feeling vulnerable and scared and helpless like her parents had always made her feel.

They sat there like that for several minutes, Katara quiet as she let Toph get it out of her system. 

Katara once again glared at the wooden bars, knowing the lack of earth or metal surroundings was exacerbating Toph’s stress. 

_Screw this. I’m gonna get her out of here_ , she thought. 

She stood up and began running in place. 

“Um, Katara?” Toph looked like she thought the waterbender had lost it. And, maybe she had. 

“Are you okay?”

“Just fine.” _It’s only crazy if it doesn't work_. 

“Well, what the hell are you doing?”

“I'm making my own water,” she gave a wild grin as she felt her forehead to see if she had any more perspiration than before. 

Satisfied by the amount, she pulled the sweat from her skin with her bending, ignoring the tainted, salty quality she could feel to it, and divided it into small, razor sharp blades which she then propelled towards the wooden bars. 

Amazingly, it worked, and it sliced through the edges of the rotted wood like a hot knife through butter. 

Toph stood up, awed respect filling her features, “Katara! You're a genius! A sweaty, stinky genius!”

Katara flushed at the compliment, feeling giddy as she pulled more sweat, this time from under her arms to create another blade. 

She was sick of this town. She was ready to get out of here. 

* * *

They’d busted out fairly easily after that, sprinting back to the campsite where the others wasted no time packing their stuff and fleeing to a new campsite on Appa. 

The others had been concerned about the fact that despite the lack of any widespread Wanted Posters that they'd come across, it seemed that the Avatar’s companions’ identities were still somewhat circulated in the bounty hunter community. They’d have to be even more careful than they’d been before. 

They all agreed to avoid any more cities as big as Fire Fountain City for the time being and stick to the more rural mountain towns. 

Other than that, everyone had been embarrassingly impressed by hearing about Katara using _sweatbending_ to escape prison. Toph especially was elated by it and pointed out how they were both sort of pioneers in sub-bending. 

Though Katara didn’t think _sweat_ bending was quite as impressive sounding as metalbending. 

She also didn’t want to admit the way it scared her, how easy it had been. She’d been playing with Zuko, coming up with new _techniques_ to bend her water, but she’d never thought too deeply about just how many _sources_ of water there were for her to bend until now.

The possibilities were a bit overwhelming and scary when she thought about them too deeply, so she ignored the awed way everyone reacted, though she blushed happily when Zuko had said in all sincerity, “You’re completely brilliant.”

* * *

That night, when she was sure the others were asleep, she snuck out of her bedroll and tiptoed over towards Zuko’s tent. 

“Zuko? Are you awake?” she whispered, wandering in and hovering beside him. 

He shifted up onto his elbows, looking tired, but he nodded and pulled the top of his bedroll back, so that she could crawl in beside him. 

She sighed contentedly, enjoying his natural heat as he pulled his arm around her and she snuggled up against his chest.

“Are you okay?” he whispered raspily. She would’ve felt bad about having obviously woken him up if she hadn’t wanted the comfort of being held so badly. 

She nodded, “It’s just been a long week,” she sighed. He rubbed slow and soothing circles on her back, listening as she explained, “with Toph..the fights, the reminders about my mom…”

_He’s so warm_ , she thought. _And Zuko won’t think I’m selfish for bringing it up_ …

“...and It’s my birthday next week,” she admitted softly. 

Zuko’s hand stilled, and he pulled back enough to look at her face. “Really?”

She nodded. 

“Were you not going to say anything?” he asked. 

She shook her head. 

“Why not?”

“There’s just so much else going on, and it’s really not important, I mean, Aang still has to-”

“Hey-” Zuko interrupted softly, “Your milestones are important to all of us,” then sensing she was about to argue, “You’re not a distraction, Katara, you’re just as important as Aang or any of the rest of us...you deserve to be celebrated.”

She snuggled back up against his chest. “Okay.”

“Okay.” he agreed, pulling her closer as they both began to drift back to sleep. 

* * *

The next morning, Katara woke up on Zuko’s palette, though it was already cold.

He’d woken up at sunrise as per usual, and she assumed he was off training with Aang. She hoped her brother was busy as well and wouldn’t notice her slipping out of Zuko’s tent. 

Nothing _untoward_ had happened, but she just wasn’t in the mood for any insinuations, crude jokes, or worse over protectiveness and hypocrisy or outrage from her big brother. 

Luckily as she exited the tent to see the bright mid morning sky, the only person around was Toph. It actually seemed like the girl was waiting for her, and Katara knew she must know she’d spent the night cuddling up to Zuko, but the girl didn’t comment on that. Katara was grateful. 

She just approached almost shyly. 

“Katara? I need your help.”

“What is it, Toph?”

The earthbender pulled out a sheet of parchment, “I need you to write some things down for me...I wanna send a letter to my parents.”

Katara smiled and resisted the urge to pull Toph into an unwanted hug.

She had a feeling the girl would be more likely to reject it in the light of day. 

Katara just picked up a brush and inkwell as they both sat down. 

“I'll be happy to help!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed the not-so-subtle bloodbending foreshadowing...I'm so hyped to get to the bloodbending plotline, I hope I can do it justice because it's soo good
> 
> Also, go check out my atla tik tok compilation on youtube if you want lol:  
> https://youtu.be/WOGRmuwkX3s
> 
> And I did another compilation of my favorite funny moments from the show (or at least the ones that survived copyrighting, RIP to most of The Beach episode):  
> https://youtu.be/aWv9Q1sMaqk
> 
> ok, enough self-promo, thanks for reading!! :))


	24. The Inn

The waxing gibbous moon glowed brightly in the night sky, casting everything in bluish tones, even the field of fire lilies and the mountain top they’d flown over on their way into the forest nearby a new village. 

Something about the whole area set Zuko’s teeth on edge, but he couldn’t quite explain what it was about it that bothered him, so he didn’t mention it to the others. Though he was on high alert as they set up their campsite in the eerie forest.

It was the remotest village they could find that would still have the necessary supplies, but the lack of light coming from the village made the darkness feel all the more pressing. 

He was happy, then, to light the campfire for them all to huddle around, sticking close together in the chilly night. 

Toph had curled up against Zuko’s side, and he thought even she might be seeking a bit of reassurance. He’d never accuse her of being scared or weak or helpless, but did wrap an arm around her shoulder in comfort.

Whether it was to really comfort her or himself, he didn’t know. 

Sokka, in an effort to both play off the forest’s spookiness and to add some levity began telling ridiculous ghost stories. 

Zuko couldn’t tell if he was doing it on purpose or not, but Sokka kept doing such ridiculous voices and describing such over the top characters and monsters that his stories were more laughable than truly scary. 

He continued his third attempt to spook them all, “....Suddenly, they heard something down the hall in the dark…” He wiggled his eyebrows, “ _Oooh_ ... It came into the torchlight ... and they knew the blade of Wing Fung was _haunted_ !” he jumped up and drew Space Sword, wielding it upwards, moaning, “ _Ooh-aaah_!”

Zuko, realizing that was it, looked around at the others. Aang was lying down, Katara was hunched over in a sitting position, and at his side, Toph yawned loudly. 

“I think I like _the man with a sword for a hand_ better,” Aang commented, sounding bored. 

Toph shook her head, “Water Tribe slumber parties must stink.”

This got Katara’s attention, and she perked up, “No, wait! I've got one! And this is a true Southern Water Tribe story.”

Sokka sat down warily, “Is this one of those ‘a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to’ stories?”

“No, it happened to Mom,” Katara said patiently.

Upon hearing this, Sokka stiffened a bit, but Zuko caught Katara’s eye and nodded imperceptibly. She’d confided to him how hard it was for her to feel like she was the only one who was keeping her mother’s memory alive, and he was happy she was beginning to share about her more openly with the others. 

Toph didn’t object, and Aang sat up to listen intently, so Katara continued. 

“One winter when Mom was a girl, a snowstorm buried the whole village for _weeks_. A whole month later, Mom noticed she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the beginning of the storm, so she and some others went to check on Nini's family, but when they got to their hut, no one was home….” she paused dramatically, “Just a fire flickering in the fireplace.” Zuko watched as the campfire flames lit Katara’s face, helping him imagine the scene.

“While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. She was all alone, and it began to get dark. Nobody had come back yet...Then all of a sudden she heard a _voice_...” Katara leaned closer to them all. 

Then in a truly creepy kidlike voice Katara murmured, " _It's so cold and I can't get warm!_ "and stared each of them down. Zuko saw Sokka pull his knees to his chest and stiffen. 

Katara turned back to the flames, “Mom turned and saw _Nini_ standing by the fire...She was blue like she was frozen, and mom ran outside for help, but when everyone came back...Nini was _gone_.”

Aang used Momo's ears to cover his face. Sokka clutched his sword closer to him, “Where'd she go?” he whispered. 

“No one knows. Nini's house stands empty to this day, but _sometimes_ , people see smoke coming up from the chimney...like little Nini is _still_ trying to get warm.”

They all shuddered, and Zuko noticed Toph burrow closer into his side as he grew the flames imperceptibly for extra warmth. 

Suddenly, Toph straightened up, pulling away from him and placed her hands on the ground.

She gasped, “Wait! Guys, did you hear that?” Sokka clutched his sister’s arm while Katara frowned worriedly, Toph standing alertly.

“I hear people under the mountain. And they're screaming!”

Sokka, relaxed his grip, then rolled his eyes, “Pft! Nice try, Toph.”

But Zuko wasn’t so sure, Toph looked serious as she tilted her head, like she was trying to sense something. 

“No, I'm serious. I hear something.”

“You're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories…” Katara suggested reasonably, though Zuko saw her swivel her head around the campsite. 

“It just ... stopped,” Toph shook her head in confusion.

Aang hugged Momo tight to his chest, “All right, _now_ I'm getting scared.”

Sensing something coming, Zuko jumped to his feet, hands moving towards his blades a second before they all heard a voice. 

“Hello, children.”

Sokka, Aang, and Katara all screamed and scrambled up from the ground. Zuko drew his blades uneasily as the strange figure emerged from the shadows of the trees.

It was.... _an old woman?_ Zuko let his blades lower just a bit. 

“Sorry to frighten you,” the white-haired woman murmured calmly, “My name is Hama. You children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night,” she chided.

Zuko frowned, still feeling on edge, though he had enough sense to slink back a bit into the shadows and pull up the hood of his cloak to hide his scar. 

Hama drew closer to the fire, “I have an inn nearby. Why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?”

Sokka sheepishly placed an arm behind his head. “Yes, please.”

Zuko wanted to slap him. Usually Sokka knew better, but apparently he was able to be swayed by creature comforts and the offer of real food. 

Hama smiled and began walking away, expecting them all to follow. Aang and Toph seemed to agree with Sokka that an old lady was no threat and skipped behind her, but Zuko grabbed Katara’s arm, whispering urgently, “Is this a good idea?” he asked.

She frowned, “Honestly, I don’t know.” She looked into his face and moved to grab her bag. “Here,” she pulled out the bandages they’d been using to hide Zuko’s scar when he went into town, “Let me..quickly now.”

Zuko unhappily sheathed his blades, letting Katara quickly cover his bad eye before they both hurried to catch up to the others. 

“Will Appa be okay?” Zuko muttered to her. They’d left the bison grazing in a nearby field. 

Again, Katara nodded, looking at Aang, “If Aang isn’t worried, then I’m not either. He should be fine. Besides, he’s not the one without food.” 

As if to prove her point, Zuko’s stomach growled. 

They’d been planning on going into the village the next day anyways to replace their food rations...

Sensing defeat, he trailed behind the others as they began walking down a cobblestone sidewalk towards a small hill on the outskirts of the village. 

* * *

Katara smiled politely as the elderly woman, Hama as she called herself, poured her a warm cup of tea. 

“Thanks for letting us stay here tonight. You have a lovely inn.”

Hama set the teapot down. “Aren't you sweet?” she cooed as Katara preened. 

The woman walked over to the head of the table to sit down. Katara took a sip of tea that burned her tongue slightly. 

“You know you should be careful,” she said out of nowhere, “People have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in.”

Sokka piped up, “What do you mean _disappearing_?”

Hama set her teacup down. “When the moon turns full, people walk in and they don't come out…” she let that phrase sink in before standing up and holding out the teapot, smiling cheerily, “Now who wants more tea?”

Nobody had finished their cups yet. Katara noticed Zuko was obstinately refusing to touch his and sent him a frown. 

She knew he was paranoid (and for good reason), but this was an old lady who was doing them all a _favor_. 

The others were quiet as they digested the uncomfortable information about townspeople disappearing on the regular.

Hama just waved a hand, “Don't worry, you'll all be completely safe here.” She clasped her hands together and smiled.

They all slowly began to sip at their tea politely, except for Zuko who’d crossed his arms in front of him with a sour look on the right side of his face. 

Hama turned her gaze towards him, facing his left side. The bandaged one. 

“Have you been injured recently, young man?” She asked softly, sympathy in her gaze. Katara thought it was a fairly innocuous question, but Zuko stiffened further. 

“Training accident,” he muttered tersely. 

“Hmm, what sort of-”

Sokka yawned loudly, interrupting. “Man, I’m beat!”

Hama nodded serenely, “Why don't I show you to your rooms and you can get a good night's rest?”

Katara nodded, gratefully. “Thank you so much!” The others just stood silently. 

_Honestly_ , she always had to overcompensate for the others’ lack of manners. 

* * *

Katara rolled over, tossing and turning. It was the first time she’d slept on a real mattress in a long time, and instead of offering her comfort, it felt too soft. She also missed knowing the others were just a few paces away.

Well, they still sort of were, but they hadn’t all had their own rooms in so long. The walls between them felt more imposing than the canvas sides of their tents, and a sudden flash of lightning across the walls set her even more on edge. 

Thirty minutes later, when she still hadn’t gotten any closer to falling asleep, she tiptoed out into the hallway, glancing around as her eyes adjusted in the dark. 

She crept to the end where she’d seen Zuko settle in for the night, and she opened the door slowly, flinching as the old hinges creaked. 

“Katara?” he whispered immediately. Apparently, he hadn’t been able to fall asleep yet either. 

“Yeah,” she breathed, creeping towards the bed and crawling in beside him without asking. They’d only slept in the same bed (or bedroll) a few times now, but it already had the semblance of comfort and familiarity she was craving in this admittedly creepy town. 

She snuggled in against his chest as he placed a soft kiss to her forehead, and almost immediately she drifted into her own subconscious. 

* * *

With Zuko getting out of bed at sunrise, Katara also decided to get up rather than sleep in. She easily crept back to her own room to freshen up before meeting him and the others downstairs for breakfast. 

Zuko had reapplied his own fake bandages and seemed a bit less grumpy after a decent night’s sleep. He even deigned to drink Hama’s tea, though he didn’t return her gaze.

She kept looking back at Zuko with a curious expression on her face.

Even Toph and Aang were up, enjoying munching on a loaf of ash banana bread from the middle of the table. 

The only one not up yet seemed to be Sokka (and Momo), so Katara happily joined Hama who went to his room to wake him up.

Katara smirked down as the woman hovered over her drooling brother.

“Wakey-wakey.” 

Katara giggled at the look on Sokka’s face as he came to.

“Time to go shopping.”

* * *

Zuko kept an eye (literally, just his one unbandaged eye) on Hama and Katara as they moved throughout the marketplace gathering supplies. 

Katara seemed fond of the creepy old woman, and they chatted happily as Zuko sulked in the back with Sokka, Aang, and Toph wandering close by, all of them carrying heavy bags of rations. 

As they passed by the vendors, they caught snatches of conversation. 

Zuko’s head turned as one man’s words caught his attention, “-can't lose another delivery boy in the woods,” he said conspiratorially to another man. 

He turned to Sokka who'd also heard if his troubled look was anything to go by. 

“People disappearing in the woods, weird stuff happening during full moons? This just reeks of Spirit World shenanigans,” Sokka muttered.

Aang looked around, “I bet if we take a little walk around town, we'll find out what these people did to the environment to make the spirits mad!”

Sokka made a halfhearted hand gesture, “And then you can sew up this little mystery lickety-split, _Avatar_ style!”

Aang was impervious to the sarcasm, “Helping people ... that's what I do.” He popped his head back proudly as they caught up to Katara and Hama who turned around and told them to go back to the inn while she “ran other errands”. 

Sokka frowned thoughtfully on their way back and muttered to Zuko under his breath, “There’s something off about her..”

Zuko just nodded quickly, glad Sokka’s logic was returning to him with his now full stomach. 

He broached it again with the others as they all began unpacking their groceries in the inn’s little kitchen. 

“That Hama seems a little strange, like she _knows_ something, or she's hiding something.”

Zuko watched Katara frown as she unpacked several mangoes.

“That's ridiculous. She's a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay.” She picked up a cabbage. “In fact...she kinda reminds me of Gran-Gran.”

Zuko could tell Katara had imprinted on the woman, and as much as he didn’t want her hopes to be dashed, he was on board with Sokka who was becoming more and more paranoid every minute Hama was out of sight. 

“But what did she mean by that comment, calling us _mysterious_ _children_?”

“Gee, I don't know,” the waterbender muttered, "maybe because she found four strange kids camping in the woods at night? Isn't that a little mysterious?”

Sokka stroked his chin thoughtfully, “I'm gonna take a look around.”

He spun on his heel, nudging Zuko as he passed to walk towards a flight of wooden stairs. Curious, Zuko obliged.

The others weren’t too far behind, crowding at the bottom of the staircase. 

Katara’s voice stopped Zuko, “Sokka! Sokka, what are you doing?” Zuko looked down the second floor hallway to see the boy peeking around and poking at random doors.

“You can't just snoop around someone's house!” Katara called out.

“It'll be fine,” Sokka called back. Zuko stood frozen, not quite sneaking yet, but not stopping Sokka. 

Aang also seemed conflicted, “She could be home any minute.”

Toph was the first to follow Sokka and Zuko up the stairs, and sighing, Katara and Aang followed suit. 

“Sokka, you're gonna get us all in trouble, and this is just plain rude!”

“I'm not finished yet,” Sokka muttered, pulling at a cupboard door with great effort. “Come on…”

The cupboard suddenly flung open as several wooden puppets fell out, hanging in a grotesque, limp way. 

“Gah!” Zuko complained, stepping back from the dolls held together by their strings. The others gasped as Sokka pulled out his weapon. 

There was a beat of silence.

“Okay, that's pretty creepy.”

Katara walked over and shut the cupboard door, forcing the weird puppets back inside, though Zuko could tell she’d found them just as creepy, “So she's got a hobby. There's nothing weird about that..”

When Sokka made no move to stop and began heading towards the attic, Katara followed, still protesting, “Sokka, you've looked enough...Hama will be back soon!”

They all gathered in the low-ceilinged attic where Sokka gestured triumphantly towards a padlock on a door. 

“Just an ordinary puppet-loving innkeeper, huh? Well then why does she have a locked door up here?”

Katara huffed, “Probably to keep people like _you_ from snooping through her stuff!”

“We'll see...It's empty, except for a little chest,” Sokka reported, peering through the keyhole.

“Maybe it's treasure!” Toph enthused as Aang’s eyes grew, but Zuko shook his head.

“Just unlock it," he said earning a quick glare from Katara. 

Sokka obliged and pulled out his sword to pick the lock the way Zuko had shown him.

Sokka grew excited, his eyes growing wide as he used his sword to pick the lock.

Katara approached. “Sokka, what are you doing? You're breaking into a private room!”

“I have to see what's in there.”

Aang frowned with Katara, but they all walked in as the door swung open revealing an empty dusty room with a single small chest sitting in the middle. 

Sokka lead the way, gingerly picking up the chest and trying to pry it open, only to discover it was also locked. 

“Maybe there's a key here somewhere…”

“Ooh! Hand it over!” Toph wriggled her fingers in excitement before pulling off her meteor bracelet and molding it into the shape of a key to open the box. Katara paced anxiously before Toph signalled that she had successfully opened the chest, holding her thumb up. 

All five eagerly surrounded the box, wondering-

“I'll tell you what's in the box.” They all jumped a bit, spinning to see Hama standing in the doorway.

_What is it with this woman and sneaking around?_ Zuko thought. 

Sokka just hung his head in shame and held the box out to her as the old woman took it slowly. 

She pulled out what looked like a whale tooth comb like the one he’d seen in _Katara’s_ things…

“An _old comb_?” Sokka seemed disappointed and Zuko was surprised Sokka hadn’t realized what was happening before him. He must’ve seen enough whalebone items before…

“It's my greatest treasure,” she paused dramatically, “It's the last thing I own from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe.”

  
 _This just gets better and better_ , Zuko thought darkly.


	25. The Innkeeper

Katara’s eyes widened in shock. _Hama...part of the Southern water tribe?_

Sokka gaped beside her, voicing her thoughts, “ _You’re_ from the Southern Water Tribe?”

Hama set the comb down, nodding, “Just like you.”

“H-how did you know?” _How had they given themselves away this time?_

“I heard you talking around your campfire.”

Katara frowned, thinking about how easily _her_ silly story could’ve put them at serious risk had it been anyone other than Hama who overheard. 

“But why didn't you tell us?” Sokka questioned, now looking guilty for all his former paranoia. 

“I wanted to surprise you! I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner. Of course, I can't get all the ingredients I need here, but I do my best…”

Katara let that fact sink in. She felt smug. Hama had simply been hiding a wonderful surprise for them. Her heart swelled.

“I knew I felt a bond with you right away!” she smiled at Hama who smiled back warmly. 

“And I knew you were keeping a secret, so I guess we're both right,” Sokka shrugged, grimacing when she hit him on the arm. “But I'm sorry we were sneaking around.”

“Apology accepted,” Hama said, turning and gesturing for them to follow her, “Now, let's get cooking!”

Katara beamed. She hadn’t had anyone to help her cook her favorite recipes from home since the last time she saw Gran-Gran and the other village elders. 

She caught Zuko’s eye as they shuffled back down to the kitchen and grinned at him, happy that she’d get to share this miraculous reunion and meeting with him and the others. 

Zuko had slowly been helping expose her to authentic Fire Nation cuisine and culture, and now she could return the favor!

He gave her a closed-mouth smile and nod in response.

There was something off in his eyes, but Katara was soon distracted by pulling out the pots and pans, happy to be bossed around in the kitchen again instead of doing all the bossing. 

* * *

Zuko began sipping at his five flavor soup slowly. He didn’t think Hama would try to poison him at dinner, but he didn’t know how much she knew…

He hunched his shoulders and tried not to draw anymore attention to himself. _It_ __’s_ sort of like family dinners back in the royal palace after Mom left _, he thought sadly. 

As Hama took her seat at the head of the table, Zuko heard Aang lean over to whisper to Toph, “I'd steer clear of the sea prunes.”

“They’re ocean kumquats,” Zuko whispered, interrupting. 

Aang frowned, nose scrunching up, “Close enough.”

“How does everyone like their soup?” Hama asked.

Sokka and Katara both nodded enthusiastically. Privately, Zuko thought the only flavor in this “five flavor soup” was salt, though he was still grateful for not going to bed on an empty stomach.

His time in the Earth Kingdom had made him much less picky. 

Sokka put his bowl to his mouth, finishing it all with a slurp. Normally, Zuko would expect Katara to send him a disgusted look, but she was too busy enjoying her own bowl to care. 

He was happy for her, he _was_ , he just couldn’t imagine getting much sleep tonight. He couldn’t wait to leave this inn and creepy innkeeper behind for good. 

“Seconds, deary?” said innkeeper asked Sokka, gesturing towards the large pot sitting on the stove, and suddenly a large globule of soup swooped into Sokka’s bowl, falling with a small splash. 

Zuko scooted back in his chair as across from him Katara jumped up from hers. 

Her face was one of pure delight as she squealed, “You're a _waterbender_! I've never met another waterbender from our tribe!”

_This isn’t a bad thing, this is a good thing...Look at how happy Katara is-_

Hama bowed her head, “That's because the _Fire Nation_ wiped them all out,” she spit, “I was the last one…"

_Nevermind, this is bad, this is very bad for me._

Sokka and Katara gasped, Katara clasping her hands together, an expression of supreme pity on her face.

“So how did you end up out _here_?” Sokka wondered. 

“I was stolen from my home,” hama said grimly. “It was over sixty years ago when the raids started…”

Zuko sat stock still in his chair as Hama recounted the Fire Nation raids against the otherwise peaceful Southern Tribe, the way they cruelly picked away at them leaving them ultimately defenceless. 

Zuko felt a familiar pit of shame in his stomach as he remembered how few people had been left in Sokka and Katara’s tribe when he’d been to the South Pole just a year or so ago.

_We did that_ , he thought, grimacing guiltily.

Luckily for him, everyone else at the table looked sad and horrified as well. 

“They put us in terrible prisons here in the Fire Nation. I was the only one who ever managed to escape.”

“How did you get away?” Sokka said, “And why did you stay in the Fire Nation?”

Zuko was also curious on this point. _Why had this woman stayed in the country she so obviously hated with all her heart…_

“I'm sorry,” the woman hunched her shoulders up, “It's too painful to talk about anymore.”

_How convenient_ , Zuko thought to himself as Katara rushed forward to the distressed looking old woman. 

Katara put her hands on Hama’s shoulders, “We _completely_ understand. We lost our mother in a raid.”

“Oh, you poor things,” she murmured, patting Katara’s arm gently. 

The others cast their heads down solemnly. Zuko felt slightly guilty... _he was just being selfish, assuming the worst of people...hadn’t Uncle taught him to be more open to strangers_ …

“I can't tell you what it means to meet you,” Katara whispered, voice brimming with emotion, “It's an honor. You're a hero.”

Hama smiled, “I never thought I'd meet another Southern waterbender. I'd like to teach you what I know so you can carry on the Southern tradition when I'm gone.”

Katara eyes were watery, “Yes! Yes, of course! To learn about my heritage, it would mean _everything_ to me.”

She bowed to the woman who smiled at her. “We’ll head out tomorrow, and I can teach you everything I know.” Katara nodded eagerly. “Until then, eat up!”

With that, she used her bending to refill everyone’s soup bowls, looking at them each in turn. 

Zuko couldn’t turn his head fast enough when Hama turned directly towards him, meeting his gaze. 

Her mouth quirked oddly. 

“You have such beautiful eyes, my dear, _so_ pale…”

Zuko felt all the air leave his lungs, waiting for a cue from the others on what to say. 

Katara laughed airily, just a bit forced sounding, “Yes, Lee is very handsome..How did you get these kumquats so salty? Could you walk me through it again?”

Hama turned to Katara, eyes warming, and although she played along with the change in subject, when she turned to Zuko again and smiled, he felt ice fill his bones.

* * *

Zuko stared at the ceiling above his bed, body tensed and far from sleep. He glanced out the window. Tomorrow night would be the full moon. The thought made him uneasy.

They should leave this town before they got caught up in whatever madness was plaguing the town, but he knew he could not convince Katara to leave Hama, not now.

Besides, it was his family’s fault Katara had never known other benders from her own tribe. His people had stolen her heritage from her, how could he bring himself to try to drag her away from what little she had left?

He turned restlessly under the covers. 

Finally, sighing, he gave up and crept downstairs towards the kitchen, rooting around to find the tea kettle before beginning to brew some tea. 

Sometimes, back in Ba Sing Se whenever he was plagued by particularly bad nightmares, Uncle would make him some tea. He shoulders sagged a bit as he found a familiar spice blend, and the routine act of making the tea settled him a bit. 

Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe he was imagining the foreboding dread in his stomach. 

He turned quickly as he heard a creaking floorboard behind him. 

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was just Katara, rubbing her eyes and watching him.

“Why are you up so late?” she murmured, drawing closer to him, sitting down next to his place at the table. 

He stood to pull down a second teacup for her, pouring him some of his brew before sitting down next to her. 

“Just feeling a bit restless I guess. Hama’s story was...disturbing,” he figured that was a good enough reason for him to seem uneasy. 

Katara nodded, looking more awake now, “I know!” She shook her head, “I just can’t believe we found her...or I guess she found us...It’s amazing, isn’t it?” She smiled softly, and Zuko admired the silhouette of her eyelashes and her profile in the dark moonlit kitchen. 

Suddenly he was feeling a bit more relaxed, “So why are you up?”

She shrugged, sipping her Jasmine tea. “I don’t know, I guess I’m just too excited for tomorrow to sleep! I can’t wait to see what Hama has to show me...And then, I heard you coming down here, and I was curious.”

She turned her soft smile to him, and leaned against his shoulder. He didn’t have the heart to distance himself from her, even as he felt overly aware of exactly whose house they were in. 

“Oh, Zuko,” she murmured, closing her eyes, “I feel like this is a sign from the spirits. It’s too much to be a coincidence, just like finding Aang. I feel like things are finally looking up for us..”

Zuko grimaced in what he hoped could pass for a smile. Luckily, it was still fairly dark. 

Katara seemed to take his silence for agreement and finished off her tea, getting up to put her empty cup in the sink. 

“I guess I should be getting back to sleep, I want to be ready for tomorrow.” She gave him one last smile before giving him a soft kiss on the mouth and heading back up the stairs. 

“Good night,” he murmured at her retreating back before getting up to put his own tea cup in the sink. 

“That’s an interesting name.”

He jumped, spinning back around to see the outline of Hama’s hunched figure, her grey eyes half lit by a candle held in her hand. 

Without meaning to, he dropped his teacup, but he barely noticed as it crashed against the floorboards, too busy staring at the old lady watching him intently. 

_Like a predator_ , he thought. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he tried. 

_Please don’t make me fight you_ , he begged silently. _Please don’t make me do that to Katara_. 

“An interesting scar as well.”

His hands convulsively found his face. His very unbandaged face. 

“Some kind of burn?” she murmured, looking sympathetic, though it rang fake and patronizing in Zuko’s ears. 

“It was an accident-”

“Oh yes, a _training_ accident, you said,” she smiled, eyes glistening, taking a step forward as Zuko took a step back, feeling the kitchen counter behind him. 

“Did I?” he asked weakly. He watched, frozen as she moved to grab some kind of bottle from the cabinet next her. Next, she grabbed a small dish rag, and began pouring some of the liquid over it.

“What are you doing-” he asked, genuinely confused a moment before a whiff of fire whiskey filled his nose and he realized-

The woman put her candle to the rag over the mouth of the bottle which immediately ignited and suddenly the burning projectile was rushing towards his face.

On instinct, he flinched back, hands over his face, snuffing out the flames on the makeshift weapon.

The bottle of alcohol fell harmlessly to the floor soaking the boards beneath his feet. He looked up at the crazy old woman, eyes wide. 

She could’ve burnt this whole place down. Could’ve hurt Katara and Sokka and Toph and Aang. He growled, “You’re insane-”

She beamed, teeth shining white under the moonlight.

“I’ve never had a firebender to play with before-”

Giving up, Zuko dropped into an offensive stance, but before he could do anything, the sink behind him exploded and his vision went dark.


	26. The Puppets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zuko!whump and some mild body horror (I mean, it's bloodbending, so...)

Sokka woke up early the next morning as the morning sun shone directly through the window of his room at the inn. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. 

Momo was still curled up and dozing on the other half of his pillow and chittered unhappily as Sokka jostled the bed getting up. 

He pulled his hair up into a top knot and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Only Hama was there in the early morning light, cleaning up what looked like a shattered teacup. 

“Accident?” He asked, trying to make small talk with the woman who still made him a bit uncomfortable, even though his sister wanted to adopt her as a new grandmother. 

“Nothing a little cleanup can’t fix,” she said, throwing away the ceramic shards. “Can I get you anything to eat? Leftover kumquats?”

Sokka’s stomach growled, and he nodded. 

Thankfully, before Hama could even hand Sokka a plate of last night’s leftovers, Katara came skipping down the stairs.

“Good morning, Hama!” she greeted.

The old woman turned to her, giving her a quick assessing look. Sokka could swear her eyes went cold for a moment before her normal, warm gaze was back. Sokka couldn’t tell if Katara had even noticed the woman’s flash of animosity.

“Good morning, dearie...kumquats?”

Katara nodded and joined Sokka at the table. They ate in silence as Sokka watched the sun continue to rise in the sky. 

It reminded him…

“Hey, where’s Z- _Lee_? He’s usually the first one up,” Sokka wondered, wincing slightly at his near slip. Katara looked up at this, eyes moving to the tea kettle Sokka saw in the sink. 

Hama smiled her signature creepy old lady smile, “Oh, the sweet boy offered to run an errand for me! We were all out of ash banana bread, you see, so he offered to go into town and pick up a bundle or two of bananas for me.”

“That’s nice,” Katara said innocently, though her eyes did that _soft-mushy-mooning thing_ they did whenever Zuko was a _gentleman_. 

Sokka turned back to Hama and once again saw a flash of coldness in her eyes before it disappeared once more. 

Before Sokka could think about it further, Toph and Aang clomped down the stairs, Momo in tow. 

“What’s for breakfast?” Toph asked.

“Leftover ocean kumquats!” Sokka crowed, knowing full well how the others felt about this Southern Water Tribe delicacy. 

“I’m not very hungry,” Aang said, rubbing his neck. As he said it, his stomach growled and he blushed sheepishly. 

Katara took pity, “Zuko will be back with some fresh fruit soon.”

Hama immediately waved a gnarled hand, “Unfortunately, we don’t have time to wait, we must attend to your training as soon as possible so you can be on your way.”

Being on their way did sound good to Sokka. 

Aang caught his eye and asked, “Did you want to explore the village for that spirit thing today?”

Sokka sighed and nodded, looking back out the window. “Maybe we should wait for Z-Lee, so he knows where we are.”

Hama stood up, bustling around to collect the plates, “You must go out and make the most of the day! Simply leave a note, dear.”

Despite the ‘dear’, it sounded an awful lot like a command, and Sokka frowned, though he took the parchment and ink Hama handed to him. 

He lingered after finishing it, a feeling of unease growing in the pit of his stomach. 

“All done?” Hama’s gaze was heavy. 

“Uh yeah, yeah, I guess.” She continued to stare at him, until he stood, discomfited. 

“Alright, yeah, let’s get out of here, guys,” he headed out the door, Toph and Aang following close behind.

They began heading out across the valley separating Hama’s inn from the rest of the village. It was an objectively, beautiful and sunny day. Everything was picturesque. 

But still, Sokka kept sending anxious glances towards the road connecting the inn to the town, hoping to see his friend walking across, holding a bag of bananas-

_Wait a minute_ , he thought.

“Hey, did you guys hear that fruit vendor talking the other day? Didn’t he say he was all out of ash bananas because he wouldn’t risk sending his delivery boy out until after the full moon?”

Aang shook his head, looking baffled. “Sorry, Sokka, I don’t remember anything like that.”

“Why would Hama send Zuko to pick up bananas when _there are no bananas!_ ” Sokka cried, annoyed that the others weren’t alarmed by this inconsistency as well.

Toph shrugged, “Maybe she didn’t know.”

“Or maybe there’s another vendor in town who also has bananas,” Aang added, reasonably. 

Sokka frowned and began walking again, eyes still peeled and guard up. 

He might be a man of reason and logic, but something like intuition was burning in his gut.

And it didn’t bode anything good. 

* * *

Zuko woke up with a massive headache and several choice words to aim at _Hama_. He blinked a few times, clearing his vision and shook his head to sweep his hair out of his eyes. 

As he moved, slowly, testing out his sore muscles, he felt familiar pinpricks in his hands.

Sure enough, when he looked above his head, he saw his hands were dangling from metal cuffs attached to what looked like rouch cavern walls. He tried wiggling his fingers, but his hands still tingled uncomfortably from lack of blood flow. 

He’d been chained before, but luckily this time, only his arms were strung up, and they were ordinary issue metal cuffs, not crazy chi-blocking cuffs or anything like that. 

He could still tap into his inner flame, though he wasn’t sure how that would help him escape unless Hama came back, released him, then he fought her. He couldn’t count on his friends finding him, so he needed to make sure he could get out of what he was guessing was the mountain side before he confronted his captor. 

He shifted onto his knees to take some of the weight off his wrists. He shivered lightly as a cool, dampness soaked his feet. _Gross cave goo_ , he thought bitterly. 

Risking the depletion of energy, he summoned a single breath of fire, which served to warm him up as well as illuminate the dark space around him.

His eyes widened in surprise as the orange glow showed a whole wall of what looked like chained Fire Nation civilians, dangling like-

_Puppets_ , he thought darkly, _of course it was the puppets. Crazy old bat_. 

“Hello? Are you okay?” He called out, voice a bit hoarse. Several of the missing villagers _(I found them, yay me_ , he thought) stirred listlessly while others groaned in response. 

Others, still were silent, and Zuko thought they looked….well, they looked _dead_. 

He gulped and tugged at the handcuffs, searching for a weak spot. They clanged loudly against the stone wall as he shook them.

“They’re unbreakable.” A woman’s voice echoed across the wide, empty floor of the cavern. He recognized the sound of complete and utter defeat in her voice.

“How long have you been here?” he ventured. 

“Long enough to know,” an older man’s voice rang out bitterly.

And yeah, okay, maybe Zuko would sound grumpy too if he’d been left here to rot and possibly be subjected to torture for weeks or even months. 

“How does she do it? How did she get you all here without anyone noticing?”

“She’s a witch!” the old man cried. 

The woman from before responded in a more measured tone, “I don’t know how, but...it’s like she made all of us lose control of our bodies, like our limbs weren’t working of our own accord…”

Zuko’s mind was racing. _A waterbender...disappearances around the full moon...control over the body and-_

“It’s _bending_ ,” Zuko whispered in horror. 

He recalled Katara’s story of bending her own sweat to escape from the jail cell in Fire Fountain City. At the time, it had been funny and admirable, but now he thought about just how far that power could go...just _how_ dangerous a waterbender could be...

“It’s bloody painful and unnatural is what it is,” the woman responded. 

_Blood, oh Agni, she'd bending people's_ blood _, and Katara's all alone with her, and-_

“Tonight’s the full moon,” he said, voice hollow. 

“Then Agni save us all,” the woman said.

* * *

Katara happily trailed after Hama as they strolled from the outskirts of the village after Hama had helped her master sucking moisture directly from the air to use in her bending, using trees as target practice for her ice daggers. 

Now, they approached a large field full of vibrant orange, red, and yellow flowers Katara had never seen before. 

“Wow, these flowers are beautiful!” The whole island was beautiful really. 

“They're called fire lilies. They only bloom a few weeks a year, but they're one of my favorite things about living here,” Katara smiled, glad that the older waterbender still had her moments of peace in this foreign land. 

“And like all plants and all living things,” she continued as Katara stopped, “they're filled with water.”

Katara considered this, “I met this waterbender who lived in a swamp and could control the vines by bending the water inside.” _That’d be cool to master_ , she thought. 

“You can take it even further,” Hama said, and before Katara could ask what that meant, the woman turned in a sharp, swiveling motion, pulling the water from a circle of the lilies and turning them into ice daggers in midair, before using them to slice away at a tree stump.

Katara’s eyes widened at the precision with which Hama’s ice cut through the tree. _With only water from some flowers!_

“That was incredible!”

She looked back down, noticing the way the lilies had darkened and wilted without their water. It made her sad to see such beautiful things so easily destroyed. 

“It's a shame about the lilies, though.”

“They're just flowers,” Hama said dismissively, and before Katara could argue she went on, “When you're a waterbender in a strange land, you do what you must to _survive_.”

_Yeah, that makes sense_ , Katara conceded. She continued to walk after Hama who kept up a surprisingly brisk pace. 

“Tonight I'll teach you the _ultimate_ technique of waterbending. It can only be done during the full moon, when your bending is at its peak.”

As enticing as it sounded, Katara hesitated, remembering the dilemma of the missing townspeople.

“But isn't that dangerous?” Katara asked, “I thought people have been disappearing around here during the full moon.”

“Oh, Katara. Two master waterbenders beneath a full moon?” Hama shook her head and continued walking away, “I don't think we have anything to worry about.”

* * *

Aang, Sokka, and Toph approached what they’d been told was the residence of “Old Man Ding” whom the one passing villager had told them was the only person to escape from the curse of the full moon. 

Toph heard the banging of some kind of tool on wood, and wondering why the crazy old man must be boarding up his own house. It’s not like it would stop a spirit afterall. 

“Old Man Ding?” Aang ventured from her left. 

“Huh?” she heard a hiss as the old man must’ve hit his finger. “Ow, dang it! What? Can't you see I'm busy? Got a full moon rising. And why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old!”

She felt him bend down to pick up a plank, breathing heavily, before letting it drop again. “Well, I'm young at heart.”

Aang walked forward and helped Ding lift the plank. 

“Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster yet at least,” he muttered as Sokka approached too. She heard banging as he began helping board up the windows. 

“We wanted to ask you about that.”

“Did you get a good look at the spirit that took you?” Aang asked. 

“Didn't see no spirit, just felt something come over me, like I was possessed. Forced me to start walking toward the mountain. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't control my own limbs. It just about had me into a cave up there-”

Toph could sense him imitating a heavy gait, “-And I looked up at the moon for what I thought would be my last glimpse of light, but then the sun started to rise, and I got control of myself again! I just high-tailed it away from that mountain as quick as I could!”

Toph listened to the man’s heartbeat. It was beating fast as he recalled his ordeal, but she could tell he wasn’t lying. Not that he had any reason to really.

“Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?” Sokka asked.

Toph thought back to their first night in the town, back in the woods. How she’d felt something, how she’d heard-

“Oh no!” she startled, “I _did_ hear people screaming under the mountain. The missing villagers must _still_ be there!” Whatever or whoever had them wasn’t killing them outright.

_There was still a chance to save them._

At once, they all began running, throwing a quick goodbye at old man Ding. 

As they moved away from the village, Toph knelt down and pressed her hands to the dirt, feeling for the unusual vibrations at the mountain’s base. 

“I can hear them. They're this way!”

She continued to sprint.

* * *

Katara hadn’t realized just how long she’d been following Hama around, but as they entered the forest they’d camped out in their first night there, she noticed the sky was already dark and the moon visible. 

“Can you feel the power the full moon brings?” Hama whispered, grey eyes bright and shining. 

She inhales deeply through her nose and stretched her arms outward, flexing her arm, causing some of her veins to bulge out.

Katara frowned, feeling put off by the motion. Something about it seemed... _greedy_.

Hama continued to stare at the moon, “For generations it has blessed waterbenders with its glow, allowing us to do incredible things!”

Katara stared up at the moon, thinking about Yue. About her strong, but gentle nature. 

Somehow, she got the feeling Hama was seeing something different as she stared up at the sky, the wind blowing through her long grey hair. 

“I've never felt more alive,” Hama said in a tone that sent a chill down Katara’s spine. 

“Uh...Hama?” Katara tried to get her to look back, but the woman was entranced.

“What I'm about to show you, I discovered in that wretched Fire Nation prison.” Katara didn’t like the menacing glare on her friend’s face. 

“The guards were always very careful to keep any water away from us. They piped in dry air and had us suspended away from the ground. Before giving us any water, they would bind our hands and feet so we couldn't bend. Any sign of trouble was met with cruel retribution,” Hama’s eyes cut to the sky as her sneer deepened.

“And yet each month, I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy. I knew there had to be something I could do to escape...” she smiled wickedly, “And that’s when I realized that where there is life, there is water.”

Katara listened apprehensively. It was the same thing Hama had told her before she’d killed all those flowers. 

Hama looked distant as she recalled her past, “The rats that scurried across the floor of my cage were nothing more than _skins filled with liquid_ -” Katara scrunched her nose at the description. She was no vegetarian, but that was still pretty callous.

“-and I passed years developing the skill that would lead to my escape...Controlling the water in another body, enforcing your own will over theirs,” Hama cackled, sounding slightly inhuman, “Once I had mastered the rats, I was ready for the _men_.”

“And during the next full moon, I walked free for the first time in decades. My cell unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in!” she clenched her fist, turning back to really look at Katara for the first time since the moon rose.

“Once you perfect this technique, you can control anything or anyone.” Her eyes gleamed with something...sadistic that made Katara feel nauseous. 

“But ... to reach inside someone and _control_ them?” she glanced at her feet, frowning, “I don't know if I want that kind of power.” _Even if part of me is tempted_. 

Hama shook her head, “The choice is not yours. The power exists. And it's your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war.” She frowned when Katara stayed silent. 

“Katara, they tried to wipe us out, our entire culture, your _mother_!”

Katara sucked in her breath. _Her mother died for her. Because of the raids. The raids to capture waterbenders like her. Like Hama. She could’ve suffered the same fate as Hama without her mother’s sacrifice..._

“I-I know-”

“Then you should understand what I'm talking about! We're the last two waterbenders of the Southern Tribe. We have to fight these people whenever we can, wherever they are, with _any means necessary_!”

Katara took a step back. “Not _everyone_ in the Fire Nation is guilty..”

“Of course they are!” The woman screamed, eyes turning hateful. “You’re a fool if you believe otherwise!”

Katara shook her head in horror as it all began to dawn on her. 

“It's _you_ ...” Her shock quickly transformed into anger, “ _You're_ the one who's been making people disappear during the full moons!”

Hama glared at her, “They threw me in prison to rot, along with my brothers and sisters! They deserve the same! _You_ must carry on my work!”

_Oh, Spirits, she’s unhinged._

Katara shook her head sadly, “You’ve crossed a line, Hama.”

The old woman’s stare was cold as ice. “I thought you were worthy to continue the legacy of the Southern Waterbenders, but you’re a traitor to your kind.” 

Katara gasped as Hama spit at her feet. “A Fire Nation sympathizer and firebender’s whore.”

Katar flinched back at the harsh words. “I- I don’t-”

“Oh yes, I know all about your little boyfriend, _Zuko_ , was it?”

Katara’s veins filled with an icy rage. “ _What did you do to him?_ ”

Hama’s smile was sadistic, more of a bearing of teeth than a smile.

“Oh, would you like a demonstration?” She tilted her head back, face tilted towards the full moon’s light as she raised her gnarled hands to the sky twisting them in the air.

“That can be arranged...”

* * *

Zuko had just finished shifting positions when his left leg twitched, thumping against the ground. 

He frowned, assuming it was some kind of cramp or muscle spasm, until his right arm gave a similar spasm. Both his legs began pulling towards his chest, though he’d made no effort to move them. 

_What the_ -

He felt a lurch in his core as his body was suddenly pulled all the way to his feet. Something was wrong. Something was _very wrong_ inside him. 

He felt like his skin was crawling, his heart beating too fast. He didn’t have any control. 

He was completely at the mercy of an invisible, malevolent force.

His handcuffs clinked loudly as his body began a jilted walk towards the mouth of the cave.

“What are you doing, kid?” the woman asked.

Zuko felt sweat pouring down his face as he tried to still his nonresponsive limbs.

He groaned, “I-I-I’m not doing _anything-_ ”

“She’s got ‘im!” the old man cried as Zuko growled in frustration. 

Zuko's body reached the end of the chains’ tautness, but it kept moving. 

“No, no, no,” he groaned as his wrists continued to strain against the metal with no regard for the pain. 

“You have to fight it!” The woman, who’d sounded so defeated before called out in worry, but even as she said it, Zuko screamed out in pain. 

He felt something _pop_ in both of his hands as they twisted in grotesque directions before slipping out of the cuffs. 

Zuko’s body kept up its stiff, jilted gait out of the cave, as he tried to focus on his breathing and not the blinding pain in his broken thumbs, the waves of pain radiating through his muscles and joints as they stiffened and stretched without care for his safety. 

He tried, he really did. But as he found himself staggering deeper and deeper into the moonlit forest, Zuko knew he didn’t stand a chance without help. 

For the second time in his life, Zuko felt what it was to be truly and completely powerless and defenseless.


	27. The Bloodbender

Sokka, Aang, and Toph ran through the dark tunnel and eventually came upon the cavern full of the missing villagers. Aang lit a small fire in his palm so they could see. 

Most of them were in pretty rough shape....at least the ones they weren’t too late to save. 

Sokka shook his head in disgust as he and his friends walked to the closest prisoner. He watched Toph bend the meteor bracelet he’d given her into a key to pick the locks of the cuffs.

“We're saved!” the man yelled, as his cuffs popped off and he rubbed his wrists gratefully. 

Aang glanced around, “I didn't know spirits made prisons like this. Who brought you here?”

A woman next to Toph spoke up, “It was no spirit.”

“It was a witch!” an old man called out from around the corner. 

“A witch? What do you mean?” Sokka asked.

_Though he had a pretty good idea._

_Sometimes I really hate being right,_ he thought. 

The woman from before shook her head, “The boy who was here before, he said she was a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, but we didn’t know there were any left...”

Aang and Sokka looked at each other startled, “This boy, what did he look like?”

“Uh, dark hair, big scar-”

“Shit,” Sokka cursed loudly as Toph moved on to the next prisoner. “Where is he now?”

“She took him, with her bending,” the woman shook her head again, “I’d find your friend as soon as you can if you want to save him.”

Toph nodded, face grim, “I'll get these people out of here. You guys go!”

Sokka and Aang didn’t need any more convincing before they were sprinting back through the dark tunnel the same way they came. 

* * *

“W-What are you doing?” Katara wavered, unsure whether to attack or not. 

She knew now that Hama was doing these terrible things, but despite the sting of betrayal, she wanted to believe she could be reasoned with. 

She didn’t want to accept that her last connection to the Southern Water Tribe’s bending tradition had been so twisted by hate and vengeance, she’d become just as bad as the people who’d hurt her.

“I won’t let you hurt the townspeople anymore!” she threatened, trying to sound bigger than she felt.

Hama just laughed condescendingly, arms still raised and twisting. 

“Where’s Zuko!?” she cried, trying again, angry tears boiling underneath her stony surface as she tried to hold her ground against the woman she’d believed in. 

“I think he’s coming now,” Hama gave another chilling grin and turned towards the edge of the clearing.

  
Katara turned too, listening as the crunch of leaves and snapping twigs announced someone approaching. 

Out of the shadows stepped-

“Zuko?” Katara ran to meet him, breathing in relief before she paused, actually looking at him. 

His pupils were blown wide, wrists bloody and bruised, hanging limply at his side as he staggered forward in an unnatural gait. 

_Something was very wrong._

“Katara, run,” he hissed, looking behind her at Hama who was now cackling. 

Katara immediately put the pieces together, rage boiling over.

  
Hama was _bloodbending_ Zuko. 

How _dare_ she-

Katar spun around, screaming in anger, summoning a wave of water from the grass around her feet and flinging it towards Hama.

  
But the woman caught it, swinging it back at Katara who had to block it.   
  


In the second it took her to do so, Hama had already stepped in towards her, and as she tried to move again to bend, her hand suddenly twisted to the wrong side.

She groaned, trying to move it back, but it wouldn’t budge. 

“You should've learned the technique before you turned against me!”

Katara felt the discomfort and fear as Hama manipulated all the water inside of her, forcing her into a strained position.

Hama laughed maniacally, “It's impossible to fight your way out of my grip! I control every muscle, every vein in your body!”

With swift motions of her hands and arms, Hama used bloodbending to twist Katara around and throw her from side to side.

Katara cried out as her own body jostled against itself. 

“Katara!” she heard Zuko’s worried cry, but knew he couldn’t help her either.

_They were both puppets right now,_ she thought in revulsion. 

Hama stepped even closer, moving her hands in a downward motion as Katara felt an invisible force push against her back, forcing her to her knees. 

She couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, “Stop it! Please...”

_You can stop this._ _You can look for forgiveness._

But Hama just laughed cruelly as she kept Katara subdued in the humiliating kneeling position. 

  
“Now for the firebending filth,” the woman muttered, stepping closer to Zuko.

_No. You won’t take what’s mine._

Katara let the intensity of all her emotions- _fear, anger, worry, betrayal, grief, disgust, pity_ \- wash over her.

She felt like a dam in her chest was cracking.

She thought about the face of the man who killed her mother, the face of Ozai sneering at his infant son, the feeling after Jet had betrayed her, the fear that Zuko had betrayed her too in the catacombs, the fear of almost losing Zuko _again_ -

She let her hot tears hit the ground in front of her before moving her gaze to look up at the moon.

  
She sent up a quick prayer to Yue and took a deep breath to center herself. 

Slowly, she felt out the muscles in her hand.

She could move them again. 

She clenched them in the grass in front of her, pulling the water from it once more.

She saw Hama’s eyes widen as shakily, Katara began to stand, growing more steady as she rose.

The corner of her lip twitched a bit as she stared the shocked Hama down at eye level. 

“You're not the only one who draws power from the moon,” she growled, assuming a fighting stance. “My bending is more powerful than yours, Hama.”

_Because mine is fueled by so much more than hate_ , she thought.

“Your technique is _useless_ on me!” she yelled, pulling a ring of water around her waist and sending a vicious stream towards Hama.  
  


Hama blocked it, sending it back, but Katara was already moving, on the offensive.

In a swift spinning motion, Katara sent the stream toward Hama again, as the old woman began to draw water from nearby trees.

Hama still deflected the attack and sent a highly pressurized water jet hurtling towards her. 

Grunting, Katara held her hands up to block the attack, disintegrating the water into droplets. 

She felt a perverse sense of pride as Hama gaped at her bending abilities.

Katara used this moment of shock to knock her to her feet with a stream of water. 

“Ahhh!” the woman growled as two more pairs of footsteps entered the clearing. 

Katara turned to see Sokka and Aang approach the scene as Hama rose to her knees.

Part of her was glad for the backup, but more than anything she was scared.

She wished they’d stayed away from Hama. She wished she hadn’t been so blind as to allow this to happen.

Her brother stepped forward, “We know what you've been doing, Hama!”

Aang took a fighting stance beside him, “Give up! You're outnumbered!”

Katara knew it wasn’t true, and Hama cried out, “No!” rising triumphantly again, “You've outnumbered yourselves.”

Katara yelled out in horror as she began bloodbending Aang and Sokka as well, siccing them on her.

Katara pushed them out of her way with water and drew more from the ground, sending a stream at Hama, hoping she could avoid fighting them directly.

But Hama deflected the attack, and Katara was forced to turn as Zuko and Sokka both cried out, “Katara, look out!” as Sokka was forced to draw his sword on her, stalking towards her like a puppet,waving the blade back and forth rapidly.

“It's like my brain has a mind of its own! Stop it, arm, stop it!”

Katara used a ring of water to push Sokka away and freeze him to a tree.

  
Then she turned towards Aang who was groaning. 

Hama taunted her, “Don't hurt your friends, Katara! And don't let them hurt each other!”

She forced Zuko and Aang to step towards each other. 

Hama hummed, “Shame I didn’t have time to practice more on the benders, but I suppose I’ll have to learn as I go.”

Katara stared in horror as Zuko’s bruised wrist and hand were forced in the air towards Aang.

  
He cried out in pain, falling to his knees as Hama groaned in concentration, and eventually a small spark erupted from Zuko’s palm. 

“Stop!” Katara cried as Hama laughed victoriously. 

She threw a protective water shield around Aang just in time to save him from the weak fireblast that emitted from Zuko’s twisted up hands. 

But immediately after Katara’s shield fell, Hama wasted no time forcing Aang’s hands into the air. 

“Ahh, so much untapped raw power with this one,” she grinned as she forced Aang forward and Zuko to his knees. 

Katara was stunned as a flame erupted in Aang’s hand as he approached Zuko. 

“Katara!” Sokka cried as he was unfrozen from the tree and sent back into the fray, sword drawn.

“I can’t stop, Zuko, I can’t! I’m so sorry!” Aang sobbed as his flaming hand was brought closer and closer to Zuko’s unscarred eye.

Zuko let out a pained scream that Katara was sure had more to do with the reliving of his previous pain than any injury yet to be inflicted. 

Her brother’s plea, Aang’s broken sob, and Zuko’s traumatized flashback all swirled around in her chest, forcing the dam completely open. 

_No, no, no, too much, too much-_

She felt like something had just broken deep inside her.

_“No!”_ she let out a guttural scream. 

Feeling the surge of power, the power of the blood thrumming through all of their veins, she turned to Hama.

She could feel the old woman’s blood, could sense the beat of her heart, could practically taste the energy and vitality inside her.

So she grabbed onto it. Hard. 

Out of her periphery, she saw the flame in Aang’s hand sputter to a stop as he leapt away from Zuko who collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, tears running down his face.

Sokka stopped moving, sword falling to the ground. 

Katara turned all her focus to Hama who was now stiff.

Breathing shakily, feeling out the extent of this new power, the wearing of other’s power and body like a second skin, she brought the elder to her knees.

Hama grunted in discomfort, but Katara did not loosen her grip, knowing once she did, there was no going back. 

She could practically taste the bender’s blood, the energy and power in her veins.

Worse, she could feel the distant call of her own brother, best friend, and boyfriend’s blood, the singing of water through their body, the channels of energy, how easily she could hurt them from inside. 

The thought made her hate herself, and she was thankful as she saw Toph and a group of angry villagers running towards them all. Just as Katara’s resolve wavered and she let the woman drop, a man grabbed her roughly and cuffed her hands behind her back. 

Katara stood stock still, shaking with exertion as Hama turned to make eye contact with her. She looked unsettlingly...pleased.

“My work is done. _Congratulations_ , Katara. You're a bloodbender.”

_No, no, no, it’s wrong, I’d never.....But I just did it...I can never unlearn this now, this knowledge will always be here, weighing me down..._

Katara let out a choking sob, shoulders sagging as Hama laughed evilly, dragged away by the villagers. 

“Katara?” Zuko’s raspy voice came from beside her. 

_He’ll never want to even look at me again, he was bloodbended, they all were, and I’m a bloodbender now. I wouldn’t blame him if_ -

Zuko just wrapped his arm around her, and though she was confused, she let herself sag against it. 

“Thank you,” he said, voice raw. “You saved my life. Again.”

This just made her cry even harder as Aang ran to hug her other side, eyes still red himself.

She felt Sokka place a steadying hand on her shoulder and knew without looking that his face was grim. 

Eventually she sunk to the ground, the others following her there, surrounding her. She kept sobbing, unable to stop and unable to care regardless. 

The dam had broken. 

She could barely breathe through her own hitching sobs. 

An hour later, she felt she’d used up the last of her tears.

There was still a vacuum inside her chest, but her cheeks were drying.

She stood up shakily. Dawn was approaching. 

“We’re leaving this place and never coming back.”

No one had any objections.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would it REALLY be possible to access someone's elemental bending through bloodbending? who knows? that's the ~suspension of disbelief~ at work 
> 
> Also, Ik I’m so mean to Zuko here, forcing him through so much new trauma, but I honestly believe the thing that would make Katara crack and bloodbend instead of continue waterbending would be more than just the threat of physical harm, it would take a really intense emotional drive to tap into if that makes sense. 
> 
> Like, I think canonically blood bending requires a level of Hate that I don’t think Katara could feel for the last southern water bender without a REALLY powerful personal motivator like the ones you love most being threatened with not just physical harm (bc they’re in fights all the damn time), but with lasting emotional and psychological harm.
> 
> Also, Ik some peeps expected Zuko and Katara to fight, but it’s really a boss battle between the waterbenders. The others are just pawns in what I see as a very character defining fight between Katara and Hama that’s about so much more than her romantic relationship, but has to involve ALL of her important relationships since it’s sort of her deciding who she is going to be. How she’s going to choose to live. Like, this chapter isn’t really about Zutara drama, it’s about Katara’s character growth.
> 
> To anyone who wanted Katara to kill Hama, I thought about it, but I think it was important for her to break the cycle of vengeance that Hama had continued.
> 
> Like she was stronger because she was still driven by love, and it was important for her to not cross that line and kill with bloodbending so that later she can (spoiler) learn to make the most of it and try to channel it for good and healing.
> 
> Ok, long ass AN over. Ciao.


	28. The Dreams

Zuko stumbled through the bushes behind Sokka, exhaustion eating away at every muscle in his body. He shoved a branch out of his face just before they all stumbled into a clearing.

In front of them, illuminated by the stars was a large field full of sleeping koala sheep. Sokka held up his map to peer at it. 

Nodding, Sokka turned back to the rest of them, “This is it! The official rendezvous point for the invasion force.” Zuko looked around. The island was uninhabited and the harbors surrounding the cliffs offered good cover. 

“Nice choice,” he mumbled as Sokka preened, “Thank you, Zuko! And we’re here a whole week ahead of schedule…”

Zuko nodded blearily. None of them had slept since the debacle with Hama, and morale was at an all time low. They’d flown away on Appa, not stopping all day until they arrived at the safest destination they could think of.

Now it was night again and Katara had barely spoken, Aang could barely look Zuko in the eye (that he’d almost burned), and Sokka was trying extra hard to act cheery, though Zuko could tell he was ready to collapse too. 

They plodded to a nice space of grass to pull out their bedrolls, not bothering to set up their tents when Aang jumped a bit, turning to the others, “Wait!  _ A week _ ? The invasion is in  _ one week _ ?”

Sokka yawned widely. “Whatever. That's like seven days from now. Let's just calm down and-”

His words trailed off as Sokka began snoring softly.

Katara sighed, protective instincts for Aang overriding her despondency, “Sokka's got the right idea, Aang. We're here. We're ready. The best thing we can do now is get plenty of rest. 

She settled down on her bedroll, effectively ending the discussion

“I guess,” Aang said half heartedly. 

And honestly, Zuko felt as anxious and unconvinced the invasion could work as Aang seemed. Sokka had begun to slowly fill him in on all the details he’d kept from him back when he first switched sides, but there was still more they needed to go over. Things Sokka wanted to run by Zuko and his “insider intel.”

He wanted to say something to his young friend, to offer some reassurance or comfort or wisdom, but when he looked up at him, for a moment all he could see was a palm of flame getting closer and closer. 

Turning, he silently folded himself inside his own bedroll, hoping a night of sleep might fix everything. 

* * *

Of course the moment Zuko finally drifted off the sleep, his subconscious decided to taunt him. 

From outside his body, he saw himself without his scar in Firelord regalia, sitting in the throne room. A blue dragon began curling around his body, saying something to him. He forgot the words as soon as they were said, but he could recognize Azula’s voice. 

Then he was on a Fire Nation ship standing at the railing next to Katara, but when he looked at her, she turned into Ty Lee who said in a chipper voice, “Azula’s going to kill you,” she laughed her signature high pitched giggle, “Azula knows everything, Zuzu,” before she somersaulted off the edge of the ship.

Zuko leaned over to save her, sticking his hand out, but she became Zhao, ignoring his hand before being drowned by the Ocean Spirit. 

Except this time, the Ocean Spirit came back for him, and Zuko felt himself pulled down into the depths of the freezing water, and just as he was about to pass out from lack of oxygen he saw his mother’s face floating in front of him.

“Mom?” he whispered, reaching towards her now outstretched hand, but the minute he made contact, the scene shifted, and he was kneeling in the familiar stadium. He felt the tears streaming down his face and looked up to see his father, standing in front of him telling him, “- _ pain and suffering will be your teacher. _ ”

He waited for the familiar pain, but when nothing came, he looked up to see it was now a shirtless Aang standing in front of him, fire in his palm. His eyes were white and glowing, and when he spoke, it was with all the voices of his past lives. 

“Dad’s going to kill you, Zuzu.”

Confused, Zuko saw it was now Azula in front of him.

“Lala?” he tried, but then she let out a loud laugh and raised her arms, forcing him to his feet. She continued to bloodbend his body into different painful positions, before finally letting him fall back to his knees. 

He looked down at himself, and suddenly he was wearing water tribe clothing.

Azula sneered at him, “You’re disgusting.”

The scene shifted, and they were no longer in the Agni Kai stadium, but standing at the lip of the volcano on Roku’s island, air filled with noxious gas. 

Azula collapsed, choking on the smoke, and Zuko who was now astride Roku’s dragon, held his hand out to her. 

“Please, Azula, come with me,” he begged, but even as he said it, her face began to melt and become disfigured by the heat of the lava, starting with the left side of her face. 

She simply laughed as he watched her body and face distort until she was unrecognizable, “You’ve already lost, Zuzu!”

The scene changed once more, and he was back in the Royal throne room, but all the fire was extinguished. He stood in the middle of the empty room and called out, but nobody answered.

He finally looked down at his feet and saw what looked like his father’s corpse. The left side of his face was burnt identical to Zuko’s.

The doors opened and Uncle ran in, yelling, “Prince Zuko, what have you done?” behind him trailed Azula, but now she was young again, a four year old, and as she saw their father’s mutilated body she began sobbing. 

He heard a cackle and looked up to see Hama laughing at him, “ _ Congratulations _ , Prince Zuko, my work here is done.”

And then he woke up, an anguished, “No!” already leaving his lips. 

* * *

Katara had been watching Zuko twitch restlessly in his sleep for at least an hour now. She assumed he was having bad dreams. She didn’t really have to wonder too hard about what could be plaguing him. 

The moment she’d drifted off, she’d seen Hama laughing at her. She’d relived her mother’s murder. She even saw herself bloodbending Zuko, forcing him to burn his own face.

She’d woken up after that, tears streaming quietly down her face and sat up, too scared to go back to sleep. She’d tried listening to the others’ familiar breathing to calm her down, but both Aang and Zuko seemed about as restless as she felt. 

She pulled some of her bending water out, just to play with it, spin it around mindlessly as she let her thoughts spin as well. The moon above her was still too close to full for her comfort. 

She looked up as she heard a soft and anguished, “No!”

Zuko sat up, good eye wide, breathing sharp as he pulled himself into a sitting position. 

“Zuko?” she said softly, letting him know she was awake. 

He turned to her, looking about as guilty as  _ she  _ felt, which was odd.

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?” he worried. 

“No, my own dreams did that,” she smiled humorlessly.

“Walk?” he suggested finally, looking up at her. 

“Sure,” she agreed easily, standing to follow him as they both began to walk away from the others. 

It was still too dark out, and she knew neither of them were going to get the rest they so badly needed tonight. 

They were mostly silent, both lost in their own thoughts as they meandered through the koala sheep herd, coming out to walk across the tall seaside cliffs. 

“I don’t think the invasion will work,” he admitted finally as Katara sucked in a breath, resisting the urge to dismiss his doubt out of hand. 

“Why not?” she asked, knowing he’d need to relay all these doubts to Sokka as soon as possible.

He shrugged, thinking. “I just can’t shake the feeling that Azula already knows the plan...she’s always been five steps ahead of me, and she had all those Dai Li agents under her control, and if you guys told the Earth King…”

Katara sighed, “then they would have passed that knowledge on to her after she conquered the city or while she was infiltrating,” she finished. 

She wished it didn’t make sense.

He shrugged guiltily, “Sorry to throw that on you now, I’ll talk to Sokka more in the morning.”

She nodded as they continued walking along the cliff’s edge. 

“How are you doing? With... _everything_?” he asked a few minutes later. 

She shook her head solemnly, and couldn’t come up with a good reason to lie, “I still feel like a monster.”

Immediately, he shook his head, “You’re not.” 

For some reason his immediate defense of her irked her. 

“I  _ bloodbended _ , Zuko! You of all people know how terrible, how _unnatural_ it is.” 

She looked down at his hands which she’d healed on Appa’s saddle on the ride here. She winced just remembering how black and swollen his thumbs had been.

Zuko also frowned, looking down at his hands. “What  _ Hama  _ did was terrible. _You_ did it to save us all.”

She shook her head again. Zuko didn’t understand how much she’d  _ hated  _ Hama in the moment for threatening the people she loves most. In a way, it  _ had  _ been for revenge. 

“I’m serious, Katara! I mean...look at how much pain and destruction firebending has caused in the last hundred years, but you don't think I’m evil just because I can do it too, do you?”

“No, but that’s different, it’s one of the four basic elements!”

“It’s not that different. All bending is a tool that can be used for good or bad! Roku used bending to save an island, while Sozin used it to wipe out the Air Nomads...Just think about how dangerous the Air Nomads could’ve been if they hadn’t based their lives on principles of peace and compassion!”

Katara imagined an evil airbender sucking all the oxygen from a room, leaving everyone to choke and suffocate. The thought didn’t make her feel much better.

“You don’t get it, bloodbending is  _ wrong _ ...Even the worst firebender can’t steal somebody’s basic autonomy..”

“Yeah, well the best firebender can’t use their powers to heal either.”

“W-what?” she stopped short. 

“I mean, why do you think you can heal at all? It’s because there’s water in blood and all throughout the body! Hama might’ve taken it to another level, but it sounds like the Water tribes have been bloodbending to some extent for years…”

Katara turned his words over in his mind. “When I heal, I...I can feel the  _ chi pathways _ in the body though!”

“But can’t you feel the energy pathways  _ because  _ your element is present?”

“I….I guess so,” she thought out loud. 

“I mean, you know more about it than I ever will, just...just don’t discount yourself so quickly, okay? I’ve seen what you can do, and I’m not afraid of you, okay? You’re still  _ Katara _ , you’re still a good person, okay?”

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. 

“You had faith in me before I'd earned it, so just...save some compassion for yourself, okay?”

They turned and began walking back toward the campsite.

“Okay,” she said softly as she laid back down across from Zuko and set her head on the pillow. 

“I’ll try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would y'all read a third installment of this series ranging (roughly) from the latter half of S3 through what would've been Book 4 ?


	29. The Young

The next time Katara woke, it was to the smell of something cooking on the fire. Groggily, she opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the morning light. 

She turned to see a figure...Zuko...crouched by the fire poking at some kind of pan in front of him. 

“What are you making?” she asked hoarsely. Apparently, she’d gotten some sleep after all. She rubbed her puffy eyes and stretched, pulling her top blankets off and crawling towards the fire out of curiosity. 

Zuko turned to her, smiling, “Pancakes!”

She shook her head, “Never heard of them before.”

He nodded, “I had to modify the recipe some...didn’t have the right tools to separate the egg whites and beat them, but luckily I picked up some of the right ingredients back at..” he glanced at her then looked down “-at Hama’s village..”

“Huh,” she reached out to pick one off of the griddle, but Zuko slapped her hand away. “You have to wait!” His face was deadly serious.

She giggled a bit, “Why?”

“Because I sent Aang and Toph to go find some wild berries to pair with them, and Sokka’s looking for some honey.”

Katara imagined her brother being chased by an angry hive of bees. “Wow, that sounds like a terrible idea.”

Zuko snorted, “Yeah, probably, I just needed the quiet to focus.”

“So, what’s the occasion?”

He turned to her smiling again, proudly, “Happy birthday, Katara!”

She stilled.  _ Happy....what now? _

“H-how’d you know?” she wondered, baffled. 

It seemed like even she’d forgotten.

“You told me it was coming up, remember? Before...well, anyways, Sokka told me the exact date, so…..surprise?” he looked worried as he said the last bit since she hadn’t visibly reacted. 

_ Zuko had remembered and asked Sokka, who’d helped, and now they all were out gathering supplies to celebrate her... _

Suddenly, the gesture was too much and she buried her head in her knees, trying not to cry. 

“Oh, shit...sorry, is this? Are you okay?” Zuko stammered. “I guess I should’ve asked you first-”

“No,” she said as two fat tears dripped down her cheeks, “This is perfect, I’m r-really surprised.”

He rubbed his hand up and down her arm comfortingly, “Er, okay, are you sure you’re alright though?”

She nodded, eyes now blurry, “It’s just been a  _ really _ crazy week, and I’m worried about the invasion, and I just...there’s just a lot...but thank you, Zuko.”

She kissed his cheek as he wrapped her in a quick and tight hug. 

She wiped her eyes as she heard the others returning to camp. 

“Smells good!” Sokka called, walking over the hill, holding (against all odds) a piece of honeycomb, which he proudly brandished at Zuko, “I only got stung twice!” he exclaimed before turning to her, “Happy birthday, sis!”

“Thanks, Sokka,” she smiled.

Aang, Toph, and Momo followed behind him, shirts filled with red and blue berries. Momo’s snout was stained a suspicious purple color. 

“Happy birthday, Katara!!” Aang shouted, looking happier than he had in weeks. Toph threw a berry in her mouth, “Yeah, happy birthday I guess, Sugar Queen.” Though she gave herself away by smiling.

“Thanks, you guys,” she blushed, grinning at them all. 

“Okay, enough of that, I’m starving,” Toph said, plopping down next to Zuko and holding her hand out for a plate. 

“Serve ‘em up, Sparky.”

They all dug in. It wasn’t like anything Katara had ever had before in the South Pole, but it was much less spicy than the Fire Nation food Zuko had made them before which she was grateful for. 

She drizzled honey and some of the berries on hers, and it tasted delicious. 

Sokka was moaning obscenely as he ate his. 

“Zuko, this makes me want to marry you.”

“Get your own boyfriend,” she joked, then looked up as they all grew quiet. 

Zuko gave her a funny look while Sokka looked-

_ Oh, right. They’d been keeping it a secret. _

_ Oops.  _

But then Sokka just laughed, and the others joined in slowly. 

“I  _ knew _ it,” Sokka crowed. 

Toph just shook her head, “About time you stopped trying to hide it. We’re not stupid, you know.”

The only one who was quiet was Aang.

Anxiously, she turned to look at him. He was studying her thoughtfully. His eyes flitted across her blushing face, to the food on his plate, over to Zuko who was tensed.

He let out a small breath, shoulders relaxing a bit, “I’m happy for you, both of you, really,” he said, voice small but honest. 

Katara began crying again as she scooted forward to give Aang a big hug. 

She was still scared and nervous about so many things, but she’d sleep so much better at night knowing she had the support of her best friend. 

* * *

Later that night, they all sat around in a similar configuration for dinner after a long day of Training. 

Katara, Toph, and Zuko had worked together to help him try to counter all three of their elements at once to mixed results. 

Aang was freaking out about the invasion, and if she was being honest, Katara was a bit too. 

Zuko had talked to Sokka about his doubts and conviction that Azula knew their plan and would be prepared for them. 

Sokka had simply said they’d adapt and drilled Zuko about what safety protocols the Firelord would take. 

Zuko had told them all about the emergency bunkers under the Caldera.

They adjusted their plan to attack there first, though they were still at one big disadvantage: they had no idea where exactly within the bunker system the Firelord would be, and they only had an eight minute window. 

Zuko had helped them narrow down the two likeliest spots for the Firelord to be.

And of course, they were at two completely opposite sides of the bunker.

Zuko was also convinced there’d be diversions and decoys in place to make things more complicated. 

He kept shaking his head everytime Sokka said something new, “Azula would have thought about that already,” he kept saying grimly. 

The mood had darkened considerably since that morning when they’d all enjoyed birthday pancakes. 

Unable to take the back and forth anymore, Aang had stood up in front of the fire, moving off towards the treeline. 

“Where are you going?” She called after him. 

“To train,” he said, face tight. 

“We’ve already been training all day, Aang. You know, there is such a thing as over-training.”

To her surprise, Aang punched the tree in front of him in frustration, “You don't get it, do you? My form is bad, I'm sloppy, and I still barely know firebending. Ask Zuko!”

Zuko just frowned at his feet, “You’re improving…”

“But?” Aang pushed and Zuko frowned, “But...there’s still a lot of work to be done,” he admitted. 

Aang's left eye twitched a little bit. “See!?”

Sokka waved a hand, “That's okay, Aang. The eclipse will block off firebending anyway. You don't really need to know it.” he looked up, “Plus, it's a stupid element.”

Zuko scowled at him, but turned back to Aang. 

“Aang’s right, the eclipse is only an 8 minute window, it’s an advantage, but not a guarantee of success.”

Aang continued to look upset after that rousing pep talk and left them to continue going over plans.

After the fifth time Zuko reminded Sokka there were plenty of nonbenders like Mai and Ty Lee that could still fight, even in the eight minute window of eclipse, Sokka threw his map down, “it’s like you  _ want  _ us to fail!”

“Of course I don’t!” Zuko bristled.

“Well you keep shooting down all my ideas-“

“Because Azula-“

“Tui and Lau, stop mentioning Azula! Every other word out of your mouth is  _ Azula _ would do this or  _ Azula _ would do that!”

“She’s my  _ sister _ !”

“Not a very good one!” Sokka yelled. 

Zuko glowered, and Katara frowned, having never seen Zuko and Sokka this mad at each other before.

Usually they got along famously, but now Zuko was breathing heavily.

“It’s easy enough for you to  _ play _ military strategy all day, Sokka, but this is real! This is  _ my _ family and  _ my _ life!”

“It’s  _ all _ of our lives, this is a  _ war- _ “

“Yeah, well at the end of this war, you won’t be an orphan, okay? Your father loves you, and mine is going to  _ kill _ me unless I help kill  _ him _ first! And my sister might be a homicidal maniac, but she’s the only family left for me to save! Sorry for  _ thinking  _ about her!”

With that, Zuko spun on his heel and angrily stalked into the woods.

Sokka kicked at a rock by his foot, then sagged.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” he mumbled into the now dying embers of the campfire.

Katara sighed, “No, not really...this is hard on all of us, but at least we have each other..and Dad...Zuko’s betraying every belief he was raised with...we can’t really imagine how hard fighting your own family must be…”

Sokka nodded despondently. “Are you going to go after him then?”

Katara shook her head, “I think it’s best if you do.”

“He’s walking in that direction,” Toph pointed out helpfully.

Sokka reluctantly got to his feet. “Okay...but if he burns my top knot off, it’s on you guys.”

“Deal.”

* * *

Sokka caught up to Zuko quickly. It wasn't very hard once he started following the footsteps scorched (literally) into the ground. 

_Damn dramatic firebenders_ , he thought as he approached Zuko's back. 

"Come to yell at me some more?" Zuko pouted without turning around. As if Zuko hadn't yelled back just fine. 

"Nah...it's not all that satisfying...it's kind of like kicking a polar bear puppy."

Zuko turned just to give him the stink eye. " _I'm not a puppy,_ " he grit out. 

"True...you're more like a cat...sneaky, dramatic, knocks things over for no reason-"

"When have I _ever_ knocked something-" Zuko paused as he caught the glint in Sokka's eye.

"Don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Make me forget that I'm mad at you right now."

Sokka chuckled a bit before his face turned serious.

"Zuko, I'm sorry." He sighed, searching for the right words, "Your relationship with your sister is none of my business. Sometimes I get too obsessed with my own plans that I lose focus of the stuff...the _people_ around me."

Zuko opened his mouth, but he held his hand up, "Wait, please let me finish...You're my best friend, Zuko, and I'm sorry for not taking your feelings into account."

Sokka was sure Zuko's face would be bright red in the sun, but right now his blush was hidden in the evening shadows. "Er....thanks, Sokka." He shifted on his feet, "I'm sorry for taking everything so personally, things are just...tense."

"Yeah, yeah they are," Sokka agreed, finally acknowledging the pit of doubt in his stomach that had been growing all week. 

He looked up at his friend, knowing he'd tell him the truth. 

"Should we call off the invasion?" _There I said it. The question that's been gnawing at my gut since we came here._

"I don't know," Zuko stared back at him.

"Don't-"

"I'm not lying to protect your feelings, Sokka, trust me," Sokka snorted at that because _fair_ , Zuko knew how to be mean when it was necessary. 

"I genuinely don't know if it'll work or not. But if it is our best shot, and we don't take it, we'll regret it forever. In the end, it's up to Aang and his destiny, and all we can do is help get him there...Besides," Zuko shrugged, "I trust you, Sokka. We all do...We'll all follow your lead, whatever you think is best."

"No pressure then," Sokka joked weakly, both taken back and buoyed by Zuko's earnestness. 

"You'll make the right choice, buddy," Sokka felt Zuko's hand on his shoulder as they began heading back to camp. " _I_ did, eventually."

"Yeah, after like five thousand mistakes," Sokka meant it as a barb, but Zuko just nodded. 

"Exactly!"

Sokka groaned to himself.

They were mostly quiet as they headed back through the woods, Zuko eventually summoning a small flame to light their way. Finally, Sokka, ready for a distraction from his own thoughts, broke the silence. "So..." he began, "You and my sister, huh?"

It was Zuko's turn to groan. 

"You know, I should beat you up for that."

"For what?" Zuko asked, genuinely baffled sounding. 

Sokka thought about it and came up blank....for _making her happy_?

"You kissed her!!"

Zuko responded like he thought Sokka was dull, "Yeah, of course we've kissed. We kiss a lot. That's what people do when they date."

"Yeah, well..." Sokka floundered, cheeks heating up, "Don't hurt her!! Or you'll have to answer to _me_ ," Sokka exclaimed, though it sounded weak to his ears. 

He felt rather than saw Zuko roll his eyes at him, "Honestly, what do they teach you in the Water tribe? I'd never purposely hurt Katara, but even if I did, I think she'd deserve the honor of beating me up herself."

"Whatever," Sokka mumbled. 

"Besides, if your sparring is any indication, I don't think you could even if-"

Sokka cut off Zuko's retort by tackling him to the forest floor. Maybe some good old-fashioned wrestling would teach the bratty prince some manners. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding the implicitly sexist trope in this chapter (i.e. man threatens his sister or daughter's boyfriend, tries to have 'man to man' talk with him):
> 
> I don't think the Fire Nation is "progressive" per se (like they're still imperialist colonizers in a patriarchal society at the end of the day), but I do kind of imagine them as a Sparta-like culture regarding women's autonomy. Like they did kind of go off with the largely gender neutral uniforms and outfits Azula wears, the number of women with guard and/or military training, and the fact that they were going to crown Azula with the title "Firelord" without adjusting it to be "Firelady" or something dumb. 
> 
> And while we love and respect Sokka's journey unlearning sexism, one week with Suki did not rid this boy of a whole upbringing of implicitly sexist socialization in the Water Tribe. 
> 
> Idk why I'm pointing this out, bc ik everyone Gets it, I just think it's important to remember that Zuko isn't the only one who is still unlearning problematic thought patterns at this point. Even Aang had to mature enough to accept he did not have "dibs" on Katara (in this fic at least), and I just really want to show young boys growing as people, and helping each other grow..
> 
> \------------------------------------------
> 
> Thanks to everyone who responded to my last endnote! I've decided once this fic is wrapped up (in a few? chapters or so) I'm gonna start a third installment and go from there! 
> 
> Continued thanks to everyone who's kept reading this since 'like rum on the fire', I'm kind of amazed people are still around, but I love & appreciate y'all's support very much! :)))


	30. The Restless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the last chapter title to "The Young" just so I could have "The Young" and "The Restless" back to back....please hold your applause, IK I'm a genius

“Is Aang still punching trees?” Sokka asked tiredly from his bedroll, sitting up after dozing off. 

The young monk hadn’t come back after Zuko and Sokka had returned from their forest...chat. (Sokka refused to call it a heart to heart.)

Katara and Toph were already asleep, but Aang was nowhere to be seen. 

Zuko sighed. “I’ll go find and talk to him.” He got out of his own bedroll.

“Yeah, yeah, you go do that,” Sokka turned back over and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

Zuko trudged up behind Aang.

“What did that poor tree ever do to you?”

Aang spun around, “Zuko! I’m glad it’s you, how about we start working on an advanced set, huh?” The kid was practically shaking with misplaced energy and anxiety. 

Zuko sighed, “Even if it  _ was  _ possible to master the advanced Katas in a week, I don’t think that’s what you should be worrying about.”

Aang frowned, “Then what is?” The bags under his eyes were painful to look at. Aang’s tired face reminded Zuko of himself the week after his banishment, minus the bandages.

Zuko didn’t know how to say this.

“Our window of opportunity is going to be incredibly small...” he started.

“Uh huh,” Aang began tapping his foot impatiently.

“...and there’s no room for error...”

“Zuko, this isn’t really helping-“

“You’re going to have to kill him, Aang,” Zuko said, cutting to the chase. “There won’t be time for lots of fighting or reasoning and talking. You  _ have  _ to go directly for the kill.”

Aang gulped “That’s not who I am,” he said sadly. 

“It is though, you might be an Air Nomad, but you’re also the Avatar,” Zuko reasoned, “Your past lives have done things like this in order to keep the balance of the world.”

“I’m not my past lives-“

“Yes, you are.”

Aang scowled at him, “You don’t get it, Zuko!” he threw a fireburst against the tree he’d been pummeling, scorching the bark.

Then the young monk plopped to the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees. “No one does…”

Zuko sighed, sitting down next to him.

“You’re right...I don’t get it.” Zuko admitted. “But I do know a little bit about dealing with unrealistic expectations at a young age.”

Aang looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. 

Zuko sighed, there wasn’t much more he could say that Aang didn’t already know, wasn’t already feeling. 

“It’s  _ not  _ fair...I don’t envy you, Aang, I really don’t...but I do believe in you, and I know you’ll do what’s right to end this war in the end.”

Aang was quiet, so Zuko stood up and gave him a single pat on the back. 

“Try to get some sleep tonight, and I’ll show you whatever advanced move you want to learn in the morning.”

Zuko plodded back to the campsite and fell bonelessly into his bedroll. 

He was awake long enough to hear the footsteps that told him Aang had finally returned to his own bedroll and a quiet “Thanks, Zuko” before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sokka was pulled from his beautiful dream where he was floating in outer space when the moon (Yue!) approached him and said…“Get up! Sokka, get up! I needa know what day it is!”

Sokka opened his eyes in distaste, seeing the face on  _ not-Yue _ in front of him.

“What? Who's talking?” he mumbled, “Go away.”

He tried rolling back over and recovering his dream, but it seemed that Aang’s blabbering had woken the others up as well. 

“Relax, Aang!” Toph said, “It's still four days before the invasion!”

Sokka felt a tug on his legs and looked up, ready to fight, only to see Aang pulling at his shins.

“Sokka, you've gotta get up and do your rock-climbing exercises.”

Sokka shook him off, finally standing, “My  _ what  _ now?”

“In one of my dreams, you were running from Fire Nation soldiers, trying to climb this cliff, but you were too slow and they got you!”

Sokka scoffed, annoyed on his dream self’s behalf. 

“That was just a dream. I'm a great climber!”

Aang began jumping up and down, pointing wildly at the cliff nearby, “Then climb that cliff! Climb it fast!”

Sokka stayed where he was, and Aang turned to the others to see Toph taking a drink of water from their canteen.

“Don't drink that!” he screamed. 

Alarmed, Toph spit out the water onto Katara who cried out, “Yuck!” and waterbended it off of her.

“Why? Is it poisoned?” Toph asked, wiping the water from her chin cautiously. 

“In my dream, we were right in the middle of the invasion, and you had to stop to use the bathroom! We  _ died  _ because of your tiny bladder!” He turned to Katara, “And  _ you  _ need to start wearing your hair up. In my dream, your hair got caught in a train-” he rounded on Zuko, “and you need to practice your lightning redirecting, I saw Azula shoot you with a bolt.”

Sokka snorted. At least one of those seemed realistic. 

Katara rested her hand on the side of Aang’s face looking exhausted, “Aang! I know you're just trying to help, but you really need to get a grip. You're unraveling.”

Aang took a deep breath, “You're right. I'm losing my mind! It's like every time I think about how stressed I am, I just end up more stressed. I'm like a big growing snowball of nerves.”

He began to pace as they all watched in concern. Katara handed Momo to Aang, so he could pet him. Sokka tried a more tough love approach. 

“Of course you’re nervous. You gotta fight the Fire Lord, the baddest man on the planet. The worst father ever, the biggest sack of-”

Katara cut in, “Sokka! You're not helping!”

“What? It's true. That's the deal. He knows it.”

Katara rolled her eyes like he was the biggest idiot she knew (and she knew Zuko), before looking over at Aang, who was nervously shaking. She walked over to him and touched his shoulders.

“You know what, I've got just the thing! Today’s training is going to be about de-stressifying you, Aang.”

“What does that entail?” The boy sounded more nervous than ever.

“Hot yoga!” his sister said excitedly, already pulling Aang along.

Sokka would personally rather take on the Fire Lord. 

* * *

Two hours later, Katara came back, hauling a still panicky looking Aang behind her. 

“Sokka, it’s your turn.”

She fell back into her bedroll to nap. 

* * *

Sokka stroked the fake beard and mustache he’d been carrying around waiting to use ever since Zuko had stopped him from doing his Wang Fire impersonation back in their first Fire Nation town. 

“Why don't you get right down to business and tell me what's been bothering you.”

“You know what's bothering me. I have to fight the Fire Lord in a few days!”

Sokka nodded sagely, “Tell me more about this "Fire Lord". Why are you so afraid of him?”

“You said it yourself! He's the baddest man on the planet! I'm supposed to defeat him and save the world!”

Sokka nodded again, “Life does feel that way sometimes, doesn't it? Like we're all trying to save the world from evil.”

“Okay, but I actually do have to! So what can I do to feel better?”

Sokka looked around before tugging one of the docile koala sheep over to where Aang was sitting. 

“Want to try screaming into this pillow?”

* * *

“All right!” Sokka watched as Toph led Aang to lie on top of a bed of rock pillars. “What you need is a good old-fashioned back pounding to relieve your stress.

Sokka blanched on Aang’s behalf, “Er, Toph-”

Aang looked resigned, “Pound away.”

Toph began stomping fiercely, causing the pillars to move up and down in various order. Sokka cringed again as Aang hissed and bounced along the rocks. 

“Ow! Toph ... I ... think ... this ... is ... bruising ... me!”

Toph stopped, and Aang began sliding to the left, off the pillars. When he stood, his knees were wobbly at best. 

“Sorry. I forgot you had baby skin.” She stroked her chin, “Well, there's one other thing we can try. 

She stomped the ground, sending a distant boar-q-pine flying into her arms. She caught it and held it out to Aang with a wide grin. “Acupuncture!”

Aang locked eyes with Sokka, “Okay, where’s Zuko?”

* * *

“Zuko, buddy, we’ve all struck out...Please tell me you have something to try with Aang.”

Zuko shrugged, “I was just going to show him an advanced move and throw fireballs at his head...You know, like Ozai would do.”

Sokka thought about it. 

“Well, Aang, it beats the boar-q-pine, best of luck!”

He left a scowling Aang behind. 

* * *

Back on the black cliffs, the sun began to set and they all crowded around for dinner. Aang sat off to the left, knees pulled to his chest. 

“Thanks for everything, guys,” he said weakly. 

Katara went to sit by him, “So, do you feel less stressed? Ready for a good night's sleep?”

Aang looked away from her, “Uh, I kinda think I sorta might slightly feel a little better...Maybe.”

“Then our work here is done,” Sokka said, dusting off his hands. Katara wanted to roll her eyes, Aang was obviously still just as anxious as ever. 

Still, there wasn’t much more she could think of to try that night, and she let herself follow the others as they began tucking themselves into their bedrolls, yawning. 

Despite her concern for Aang, it wasn’t long before Katara was pulled deep into sleep.

What felt like seconds later, she and the others were woken up by Aang’s screams. 

Drowsily, she crawled over to him, “What happened, Aang?”

Aang refused to look at her,  _ again _ . “It's my nightmares. They just keep getting worse and worse.”

“TIme for another therapy session?” Sokka yawned through the question. 

Aang looked back for just a moment, “No. That won't help. Nothing helps. There's only one thing I can do! I'm going to stay awake straight through to the invasion!”

“That’s in three days, Aang.”

“I know, I can just-”

Zuko scowled, looking angry now, “I’m sorry you can’t sleep, Aang, I get it. Nightmares suck, but giving up and completely giving in to sleeplessness only ruins our chances of pulling the invasion off. It’s irresponsible!”

Katara sort of had to agree, but Aang just kept shaking his head. 

“Go back to bed, I’ll see you all in the morning,” he flinched and looked off to the side, but there was nothing there.

“Aang-”

“Forget it!” he snapped, rolling onto his side where Katara was sure he wouldn’t get any real sleep. 

Giving in, she and the others laid back.

* * *

The next morning, she got up and walked over to where Zuko was up and meditating by the cliffside. 

“I have an idea...to help Aang,” she explained. “But I need your help?”

He stood up immediately. 

“Let’s go.”

* * *

They waited until Aang meandered back towards the campsite. Katara could’ve sworn he’d been talking to  _ Momo _ , but he stopped short when he saw them all, looking paranoid and dizzy on his feet. 

“W-what’s up, you guys?”

Katara stepped forward, placatingly. “Zuko and I found some herbs that should help you fall asleep, and he made it into a tea for you to drink.”

She pointed to Zuko who held up a steaming tea pot, obligingly. 

Then she pointed at Sokka and Toph who’d gathered for the Aang-intervention. 

“And Toph and Sokka helped make you a comfortable bed from sheared koala sheep wool.”

Sokka gave a big thumbs up, “No animals were harmed in the making, scout’s honor.”

Aang’s eyes darted between them all. “I...you guys didn’t have to do all this.”

Katara shook her head, “We care about you, Aang...We all need you to be okay, and not just because you’re the Avatar, but because you’re our friend...And we believe in you, no matter what.”

Aang’s shoulders sagged, and when Zuko stepped forward to hand him a cup of tea, he took a slow sip, sighing, then another one. 

Without waiting for him to change his mind, Katara led him over to the bed and helped tuck him like her mother used to do to her and Sokka. They’d all agreed to sacrifice their extra blankets, so Aang could be extra comfortable for the next two nights. 

She kissed him on the forehead. “Sleep well, Aang.”

They all gave him some space after that, but shared a set of triumphant, relieved smiles when they eventually heard Aang’s soft snores echoing across the field. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol the first section reminds me of a Zukka fic where they're raising a kid together and argue over who should check on them in the night
> 
> Also, thought about doing Aang's POV here, but I haven't written his to date, and I didn't feel like starting now. I'm pretty much set with Zuko and Katara, some Sokka, and a bit of Toph POV-wise (though, I do Love a good Azula POV, so that'll probably become a thing in the third installment at least)


	31. The Invasion (Part I)

Zuko woke up with a massive headache that just wouldn’t go away, no matter how long he laid there, willing the pounding to dissipate. He put it down to stress since the Day of Black Sun was now less than 24 hours away. 

He sighed, maneuvering over towards the campfire where Katara sat. She looked at him curiously, “Hey, I guess I beat you up, for once.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Congee?”

“No thanks,” he sighed, not feeling very hungry as his head beat out a painful rhythm against his skull. 

“But...you love breakfast,” she frowned, “Are you sick? Do you have a fever?” 

She put the back of her hand to his forehead, “Ugh, I can’t tell with you firebenders.” She let her hand drop. He tried to shake his head placatingly. 

“I’m just tired, and I have a headache,” he admitted. 

She pulled some water from her pouch and placed it to his forehead. The coolness felt good, but the minute she removed her hands, the pounding resumed.

He told her as much, and she just frowned harder. 

“I’m fine, I swear!”

She smirked, “Maybe I can kiss it better.” She leaned over to kiss him right as-

“Gross!” Sokka plopped himself down between them, smirking as Katara spluttered indignantly. 

“You two are gonna make me lose my appetite,” Sokka complained, even as he began to dig into the bowl of congee Katara had offered to Zuko. 

Toph sat down across from them, Aang in tow, looking better rested than he had all week, _thank Tui._

“Are we talking about how disgusting Zuko and Katara are?” Toph grinned

“Hey, I don’t think disgusting is the right word-” Zuko started, but Sokka cut him off. 

“You’re right, how about...obnoxious?”

“Repulsive!” Toph giggled. “Nauseating!”

Even Aang laughed with them, throwing out an “Icky!”

“Aang!” Katara scolded, but her eyes were light.

Even Zuko chuckled with them and put his arm around Katara to renewed giggling and faux insults. 

He was just happy he didn’t have to hide anything anymore. He had no more secrets, and he felt the lightest he’d felt in years. 

He sobered up just a bit remembering what was waiting for them soon enough. 

He sent up a quick prayer to Agni.

_I’ve just found my new family, my role in the world...Please don’t let me lose it so soon_. 

* * *

Zuko stopped Katara with a hand on her shoulder before they all dispersed to get ready for the big day ahead.

“What’s up?” she asked gently.

“I need to give you this,” he pulled her mother’s necklace out of his pocket. He’d been holding onto it for so long, and now it was time for Katara to wear it again. 

Aang was off shaving his head. The others were changing back into Earth Kingdom green and Water Tribe blue. 

_No more secrets. For any of them._

“Thanks, Zuko.” She took the necklace, and he quickly helped her tie it in the back. 

“What about you?” she breathed, “You could always wear your Blue Spirit disguise-”

He shook his head. He knew if he got caught, he was as good as dead and that a disguise could buy him a bit of time if that happened, but he was done with disguises. 

“If this is the last time I ever set foot in the Fire Nation, it’s gonna be as myself.”

She hugged him quickly, before pulling back. “I’m proud of you.”

“I know,” he smiled. 

_That’s the only reason I’ve gotten this far_ , he thought. 

* * *

They all hung around, waiting for the invasion force to arrive. Zuko sharpened his Dao swords to relieve his stress while the others chatted. Around midmorning, Katara finally stood.

“Is that?-” she pointed out towards the sea where a thick roaming cloud of fog was approaching. 

“It’s the invasion force!” Sokka cried, standing up.

Zuko wandered towards them to get a better look and sure enough, through the breaks in the cloud, he could see bits and pieces of what looked like masts and sails.

Sokka began sprinting towards the path that led down to the shoreline, the others following close behind. 

* * *

Aang and Toph used their earthbending to draw slabs of rock from beneath the water up into long walkways where the ships could dock and the forces unload. 

Zuko counted five Water Tribe ships. He ignored Azula’s voice in his head whispering _it’s not enough. You already lost, Zuzu..._

He was thankfully distracted by Katara running forward to embrace her father happily.

“You made it, Dad!”

Sokka was beaming as his Dad patted him of the back in a casual, loving move Zuko could only dream of his father doing. 

Hakoda caught Zuko’s eye and nodded. The last time they’d seen each other, Hakoda had punched him and pretended to turn him over to the enemy, leaving him to be rescued by his children. 

But Zuko didn’t hold it against him. In fact, he felt a grudging respect for the man. He was certainly better than his own father.

Zuko gave him a nod back. 

“Were you able to locate everyone I told you to find?” Sokka asked.

“I was,” the Chief nodded, turning as several men wearing crude leaf coverings disembarked the ship.

He leaned in the say conspiratorially, “But I'm a little worried, Sokka. Some of these men aren't exactly the ‘warrior type’.” 

Zuko had to agree the men didn’t look like much. He didn’t want to imagine what Azula and his father would say of his new allies. 

_Look just how low you’ve fallen, Zuzu, look at the peasant filth you’re besmirching yourself with-_

Zuko frowned, headache and creeping doubt doing a number on his head. 

After all the _swamp_ benders stepped off the ship, a group of men in Earth Kingdom green departed.

One boy about Zuko’s age, sporting a small mustache and goatee, stepped forward.

“Hi, Katara.”

Zuko frowned. Who the _hell_ -

Katara squealed, “Haru!” and ran over to hug him, “It's so good to see you!”

Toph leaned over to whisper to Zuko, “Is he cute?”

Zuko bristled, whispering back, “Who?”

“Haru, Katara’s ex-boytoy, of course,” Zuko scowled though she couldn’t see it. 

“I don’t know what-”

“I’m gonna assume he is because your heart rate skyrocketed as soon as he said Katara’s name.”

“I’m not _jealous_ !” Zuko defended. He wasn’t some kind of... _territorial caveman._

“Sure, Sparky.”

“He has a _goatee_ ,” Zuko said in disgust like this ended the discussion. 

Toph just laughed as Aang walked over towards them. 

“Toph, Zuko, this is Haru. When we met him, his town was controlled by the Fire Nation. So he had to hide his earthbending.”

Zuko scowled at the hand Katara had resting on Haru’s shoulder. 

He beamed at her, “Katara inspired me and my father to take back our village.”

Katara blushed and looked away. Zuko counted to ten and let out a deep breath. _Bigger fish to fry today_. 

A large bearded man stepped up behind the pair, “You helped us find our courage, Katara. Now we're here to help you.”

Toph stiffened, turning to her left. “No way! Is that-”

She peeled away from his side, running towards some large, beefy Earth Kingdom fighters.

  
Now _those_ were people Zuko was glad to have on their side. 

He and the others were suddenly distracted by a _boom_ coming from one of the ships.

Sokka, Hakoda, and Aang ran towards it, and Zuko watched from afar as a cooky looking man with glasses, an apron, and singed eyebrows appeared from below deck, followed by others who were coughing. 

“That’s the mechanist,” Katara explained, sliding next to him. “He’s the one who helped execute all of Sokka’s crazy inventions.”

“Good,” Zuko said, meaning it. Without Appa’s armor, the waterbending powered submarines, and metalbending powered land tanks, they didn’t stand a chance, eclipse or not.

They both watched as a boy in a wheelchair handed Aang a new glider.

“Who’s that?”

“Teo, they’re all from the Northern Air Temple.”

Zuko nodded, feeling a flash of guilt as he remembered. He had met the old man once before when he’d visited the temple during early search for the Avatar. He knew the old man had been extorted by the Fire Nation to make weapons, and Zuko had entered and left the temple without problem due to this under the table understanding.

He still felt residual guilt over how easily the Fire Nation had exploited a group of refugees in the temple of a people they’d already massacred.

Katara squeezed his arm, “You seem tense?” She frowned a bit, “Is your head still hurting?”

He nodded, “Honestly, I think it might be the impending eclipse coupled with exhaustion from this week,” he admitted. 

_Or maybe I’m just freaking the hell out. Going into another moral coma like in Ba Sing Se._

“Well, if the eclipse has anything to do with it, don’t worry,” she smiled, “I’ve got your back...You rise with the sun, but I rise with the moon, remember?” 

He snorted, “Thanks, I’d almost forgotten about that line.” 

_Not my best look or moment in retrospect_.

She laughed, “I’ll never let you live that one down…. _honestly_ , Zuko who fights a waterbender in a blizzard? Can’t believe you’ve made it this far,” she began pulling him towards the beach. 

“Now, come on, Sokka’s about to debrief everyone!”

* * *

Sokka felt sweat drip down the back of his neck in his new Water Tribe Warrior’s garb as he stood on the beach with his father and Team Avatar at his side. 

“Don't worry, you'll do great,” his dad whispered. 

_Here’s to hoping_. 

Sokka approached the map board and podium in front of everyone. “Good morning everyone, Ah!” he tripped slightly on stage, cheeks flushing. “Umm ... so, as you know, today, we're invading the Fire Nation! I mean I know you know that because otherwise why else would you be here?” he laughed nervously. 

There might as well have been crickets. 

“Uh anyway,” two of the scrolls he needed slipped from his hands. He tried to gather them as quickly as possible, unraveling the first onto the board. 

  
“The Fire Lord's palace is here,” he pointed, but turned when he got some confused looks, realizing it was the wrong map. Flustered, he flipped the chart several times until he reached a different map.

But of course it was also the wrong map. “Nope, uh wait, uh wait, uh wait, it's _here,_ and uh, there's an eclipse today and Aang's gonna fight the Fire Lord and the firebenders won't have any fire to use so that's good for us! 

“And ... um ... I'm sorry let me start at the beginning…”

_When in doubt start from the beginning,_ he thought beginning to panic.

He froze in place, words going a mile a minute, “ _Katara and I discovered Aang frozen in an iceberg, now I didn't like Aang at first but grew to love him over time, then we went to the Southern Air Temple where Aang used to live and then we met Suki, who's a Kyoshi warrior. She dressed me like a woman and then she kissed me, and then Aang's friend was a crazy old king and-”_

He felt a familiar hand pat him on the shoulder, “Thank you, Sokka,” Hakoda spoke to the troops, then leaned down to Sokka “It’s okay, son, why don't you take a break?”

Sokka moved to sit by the others without catching anyone’s eye. He felt shame course through him. _Why was he always so useless?_

Distantly, he could hear his Dad talking, explaining the stages of the day of black sun...of _his_ plan…

He zoned out, stuck spiralling in his own head until finally, Katara stood up next to him, and he used his opportunity to flee before anyone could ask him any questions. 

* * *

While the others added their extra armor and donned their warpaint, Zuko poked around the cliffside, looking for Sokka. 

Eventually, he found him, staring down at his wolf helmet, frowning. 

“The others are looking for you. The boats are ready to leave,” he said quietly, not wanting to startle his friend too badly. 

Honestly, he felt for Sokka. He knew better than anyone what it felt like to humiliate yourself in public...the only difference was, instead of punishing him for it, Sokka’s father had intervened to _help_ him. 

The more he saw of other parents, the less he understood his own.

Sokka just sighed, “I messed up, Zuko.”

“How?”

“The invasion plan was my moment of truth, and I completely flubbed it. I just fell apart.”

Zuko approached slowly and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Sokka, that speech wasn't your moment of truth. That was just public speaking, and nobody's really good at that...I’m terrible at it!”

Sokka snorted, “Yeah, you really are.”

Zuko punched his arm lightly before Sokka deflated again. 

“But my dad isn’t! He explained the plan perfectly and inspired everyone, like a real leader should. I’ll never be as good a Chief or leader as he is.”

Zuko sighed, “ _Look,_ your moment of truth isn't gonna be in front of some map; it's gonna be out there on the battlefield.”

Sokka turned to face him. “Do you think we’re gonna win?”

Zuko looked out over the crashing waves. 

“I think we’ll win or go down trying.” 

He patted Sokka's arm once more before turning around to join the ships, knowing Sokka would follow.

Because at the end of the day, Sokka always came through for them. 

* * *

“There they are, the Great Gates of Azulon,” her dad called out to the rest of their boat. 

Katara squinted her eyes. All she could see were the two large golden statues Zuko had described to Sokka a few days earlier.

She turned to him now, “And there are nets that come up, right?”

“And light on fire,” he nodded confirming, “not to mention the patrol squads that’ll come out.

He seemed a little more reassured once they’d successfully snuck past the initial Fire Navy blockade using their fog cover, but now he was tense again. 

She heard her Dad call her name, “Katara, you and the swamp benders whip up a fog cover.”

Nodding, she began twirling her hands like the others, easily vaporizing the surface of the ocean below to create a thick cloud of mist to shroud them as they progressed.

“Keep it up, we're almost through!” She continued to create more fog when suddenly a bell rang out and the huge net Zuko had described rose from the water, lighting on fire. 

_Sokka might be right,_ she thought glibly, _the Fire Nation really is all about the theatrics_. 

More importantly, though, a number of patrol boats began racing towards them.

“Everyone below deck!”

She grabbed Zuko’s hand and tugged him down below. 

“Let's hope Sokka’s invention works,” he mumbled, stepping inside one of the submarines Sokka and the mechanist had designed together. 

She guessed that for a non-waterbender, it did kind of look like a metal death trap. She followed behind him, sealing the door as she went. 

By the time the Fire Navy patrols made it on board, they’d be long gone.

* * *

Zuko scrambled to the top of the surfaced submarine, deeply inhaling the oxygen, and enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face, even if he could sense its powers were waning as the moon grew closer to covering it completely. 

Around him, everyone else stretched while the submarines replenished their air supply. 

Aang let the water bubble around Appa’s head fall before joining him and Katara along with Toph and Sokka.

“So, this is it huh?” Aang said, shifting nervously. “It’s really happening?”

“Ready to kick some serious Fire Lord butt, Twinkle Toes?” Toph asked.

Aang smiled, only a bit nervously, “You bet!”

Zuko was quiet as he watched Aang. _The Avatar. Could he do it?_...

He was distracted as Katara forced them all into a big group hug, though deep down, it warmed his heart. 

_Whatever happens today_ , he thought, _my treason was worth it...for this...a chance at real love and real family._

_I think I’ve made Uncle proud._

“Everyone listen up,” Hakoa said as they all pulled apart, “The next time we resurface, it'll be on the beaches. So stay alert, and fight smart. Now break time is over, back in the subs!” 

Aang went back over to Appa to re-bend his air bubble as Toph and Sokka went back to their own submarine, leaving Katara and Zuko alone. 

Zuko’s face became somber as he took her in. “I need you to take something for me.”

She frowned, but nodded. “If I don’t make it out of this, then...could you give this to my Uncle,” he handed her the rolled up letter he’d penned earlier that week without telling anybody..not even her.

Mainly because of the way she was looking at him now, with a mixture of anger and sorrow. 

“No! Zuko, we’re all making it out of here, okay? Give it to him yourself,” she pushed his arm away. 

Zuko sighed, expecting that reaction. “Of course I _want_ to make it out alright. How could I not, now that I have you?” she blushed at that and he stumbled on, “I’m just saying, _if_ somebody has to...if there’s a person who isn’t going to come back from this, it should be me.”

Now, she looked decidedly cross. 

“Don’t plan on trying to be a martyr, you jerk! It’s _selfish_ and _arrogant_ and-”

He pushed the letter back in her hand, “ _Just in case_ ,” he pleaded. “I just need to know that no matter what happens, that Uncle knows what he’s meant to me.”

Her eyes finally softened, and she snatched the letter from him, shoving it deep into her skirt pocket. 

“ _Fine_ , but I better not have to send it, okay?”

“Deal,” he smiled. He brushed some of the hair from her face. “Can I kiss-”

She beat him to it, pulling him down into a deep kiss. It was intense enough for a goodbye, but relaxed enough to promise a whole future of kisses if they both lived to see the next sunrise. 

“Katara!”

They broke off to turn, blushing, to see Hakoda peering out at them. 

The man cleared his throat gruffly, but didn’t look that surprised, all things considered, “It’s time to resubmerge!”

“Right, Dad!” her face was beet red as they both hurried back inside the submarine, Zuko studiously avoiding Hakoda’s eyes. 

  
_If I die, at least I can get out of_ that _conversation,_ he thought.


	32. The Invasion (Part II)

The submarine fleet was rapidly approaching landing. Hakoda turned around and called out, “Everyone in position. Earthbenders, into your tanks. This is gonna be a rough ride.”

Toph and other earthbenders climbed down a ladder in the sub and got ready. Outside, a loud alarm began to blare as the subs approached the gate. Several harpoons launched towards them, but most missed.

Hakoda saw one hit a sub two boats back, but he had to hope the waterbenders there could deal with the leak. 

“Ready the torpedo,” he called out as his warriors loaded an ice-covered torpedo. “Launch!”

The swampbender called Huu launched the torpedo with waterbending, and across the others subs, similar torpedoes were launched. He looked out the periscope to confirm all six had landed, before signalling all the subs to pass through the holes left behind. Their sub rocked back and forth as it made its way onto the sand. 

Almost instantly, more missiles rained down on them. Hakoda and the others pressed the buttons to open up their subs as the earthbenders exited in their specially designed tanks. Hakoda himself put his helmet on, let out a war cry, and charged, feeling his men follow at his back, weapons ready.

The battle commenced immediately as they made their way inland, destroying battlements as they went. Out of his periphery, the Chief saw the earthbenders use boulders Sokka had thought to bring with them to launch at the battlements and protective walls of the port. 

Appa arrived and the Avatar jumped off as Fire Nation tanks appeared through the smoke on the horizon.

He ran to join his daughter and...Prince Zuko at her side. 

He didn’t have much time to dwell on how he’d seen the _heir to the Fire Nation_ kissing his _daughter_ , because several explosions distracted him. He was glad to see the tank led by the mad inventor’s son, Teo had just taken out a nearby battlement, clearing the on-foot warriors’ path some more.

He marveled as his son’s magnificent inventions came head to head with the Fire Nation tanks. In front of them, an earthbending tank lifted its front up to slam down and crush a Fire Nation tank, splintering the metal the pieces. 

But more Fire Nation tanks were arriving, so Hakoda kept running, dueling men and women as he went. 

He saw the swamp benders destroy enemy tanks using water, while near him, Katara sent her own deadly ice daggers to slice through the Fire Nation’s machinery. 

Behind them a large seaweed monster appeared, smashing tanks left and right, and Hakoda took back any bad thing he’d ever thought about the swamp benders. He turned to face the front again, leading the charge in the wake of the tanks' first advance, only faltering when several war rhinos with Fire Nation soldiers on their backs joined the fray.

They began shooting fireballs at a group of his men. He ran forward to help. 

He heard his son call to him, “Dad, look out!” from a rhino he must have commandeered. _My children are amazing_ , he thought a moment before a fireball came hurtling towards his head. 

He stepped back in surprise as a familiar dark haired figure leapt in front of him. The boy stopped several balls of fire midair with one sharp hand gesture before sending them flying back at the soldiers who scattered. 

Hakoda grunted at Prince Zuko in appreciation before running to join Sokka. He stole a few seconds to examine the battlefield around them.

“Sokka, we've gotta take out those battlements! It's our only chance.”

His son nodded, “I've got an idea.”

He nodded, trusting Sokka with all his heart. 

* * *

Hakoda followed Sokka as he grabbed Katara’s arm, pulling her along with them, explaining their idea quickly. He frowned as she then proceeded to drag Prince Zuko along too, though he kept running, no time to argue. 

They all leapt onto the fully armored Appa, knowing Aang was set with his new glider if he needed to fly. Then they flew towards the battlements high above the walls. As they approached, Hakoda watched his son draw an unfamiliar black sword and slice the end of a missile launcher off. 

As they flew past another, Hakoda threw two bombs inside a battlement. Prince Zuko set two more on fire. 

Katara stood in the saddle and broke two barrels of water attached to either side of Appa, drawing it around her arms in a supernatural armor. 

As they flew past more battlements, Zuko burned and Katara froze soldiers and missile launchers in place, back and forth. Hakoda had to admit, they worked in impressive tandem, creating their own rhythm borne of familiarity and trust. Hakoda had mixed feelings about the Prince still, but he knew a good warrior when he saw one. 

Appa landed between the last two operational battlements as the four of them jumped off his back..

“You two take out that battlement,” he pointed to his right, talking to his kids before turning to the other building, “I got this one. Watch each other's backs.”

A second later, as he sprinted towards the battlement, he felt that the Fire Prince had followed him, but again, he had no time to question it as he jumped onto the thatched roof stealthily. Luckily, the Prince was also trained in stealth apparently, because he followed Hakoda’s lead immediately, following as he crept towards the window before swinging in and attacking. 

The two Fire Nation soldiers rushed them immediately, and Hakoda knocked the first out with the hilt of his sword. He turned to face the other when he heard an ominous clicking noise. He watched as the Prince cut down the second guard who slumped over the controls of the missile launcher, which was now smoking. 

Before Hakoda could react, the Prince was lunging for him, and his vision was blinded by the explosion. He felt the heat of it singe the hairs on the back of his arm and coughed out a small inhalation of smoke before he felt the body on top of him slide off. 

He looked up to see the golden-eyed boy hacking lightly, good eye tearing up, and he looked around them to see a perfect circle on the floor of the hut spared from the destruction all around them. The walls no longer seemed to be standing. He quickly realized Zuko had knocked him down and somehow shielded them from the brunt of the blast with his bending. 

Hakoda also realized that was the second time that day the Fire Prince had saved him. He held his hand out, and the boy took it, standing. Hakoda examined his face more closely, noting the bruise and scrapes already forming. Containing that explosion hadn’t been as easy as he’d made it look. 

“Thank you,” he said, sincerely as Sokka and Katara barreled in, looking worried.

“We saw the explosion-!” Katara said, wilting as she saw both he and Zuko were okay. She moved forward to fuss over the scrapes on Zuko's cheeks, and Sokka looked relieved as well before he turned to Hakoda, “Dad, we need you back on the front line to lead everyone! We have to regroup if we're going to take the tower."

Hakoda examined his son and thought about just how proud he was of everything he’d already accomplished. Kya would be _so_ proud of her children. 

He realized what he needed to do now. He looked at the children- no, the young adults- in front of him and decided to _trust_ them _._ Even the Fire Nation Prince had earned as much from him over and over.

It was time for him to let go. 

“No...This is _your_ moment, Sokka, I’m sorry for wresting it from you too soon. You can do this,” he put his hand on Sokka’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son.” 

Sokka nodded, placing his wolf helmet back on.

He turned to climb onto Appa, taking the reigns as the others crawled on. 

“Yip yip,” he said, mouth set, ready to lead his troops.

* * *

Sokka looked down from Appa’s head as Bato called out to him from below, “Sokka, we’re on our way to victory!” His Dad slipped down to join his oldest friend. 

“Sokka, this next part is on you and your friends alone? Are you ready?”

Sokka’s face was somber as he looked out at the lips of the volcano housing the Palace City and Royal Palace. 

“We’re ready.”

He’d successfully rallied the troops, bringing down the walls of the Plaza Tower, and now their next step was infiltrating the heart of the city itself. 

He looked down to his palm which held the timing device The Mechanist had given him. “T minus 15 minutes,” he said. “Where’s Aang?”

“Here!” the boy shouted as he glided his way over to land on the saddle.

“And Toph?”

“Coming!” she cried, launching herself up with an earth pillar. 

“Alright,” Sokka stared at the horizon, “Let’s find ourselves a Fire Lord.”

* * *

They all dismounted Appa when Zuko cried out for them to stop. "Here! It's down there!"

Immediately Toph placed her hands on the ground for extra “seeing.” She grinned, “I can sense it, there’s a whole series of tunnels, just like Sparky said.”

She stomped her feet, creating a wide opening in the ground. "If we follow this, we should find our way to the tunnel system eventually."

Sokka looked into the claustrophobic, dark opening in the ground, but didn't argue, following Toph immediately. The air instantly became thinner and more humid as they descended, and as they approached a large opening, he felt surprising heat begin to blister his forearms. 

"A geyser field," Zuko said grimly, and sure enough, they found themselves looking over a field of holes, sporadically erupting with glowing magma. 

Sokka gulped. "No chance you can just uh...turn these all off with your bending?"

Zuko's look told him _no_. "Okay," he said, bracing himself, "running like hell it is, then."

Zuko and Toph took the lead, darting quickly between the geysers. And it was a good thing they did. Sokka would have gotten roasted by a geyser to his left if Toph hadn't summoned a quick earth shield to block the lava, and Zuko deflected a large glob that would've nailed Aang.

Eventually, they made it to the other side of the cabin, feeling distinctly sooty and sweaty, but all alive. They continued forward as the path steepened right before turning and leading them to their goal.

They all paused to take in the large and imposing Royal bunker doors carved into the side of the sheer rock, lit by flickering torches on either side. 

"How-?" Sokka asked, nearly forgetting about Toph before she stepped forward confidently and bent a large hole through the middle. 

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you, Toph?" he smiled. He thought he saw her blush, but that could've been exertion or the, you know, cave full of boiling lava thing. 

“Can you sense the main two chambers?” Zuko asked, wasting no time as they crawled through the shredded metal. Toph nodded slowly, considering. 

“Yeah, there’s one that way,” she pointed to the right down a paved tunnel, “and one that way,” she pointed to a similar tunnel on the right. 

Sokka’s breath fluttered, “Okay, Zuko, moment of truth, any idea which the Fire Lord will be in?”

Zuko shook his head frowning, “It’s still a 50/50 chance...We just have to hope that if the group not with Aang finds it first, they can hold him off long enough for Aang to get there.” He caught Zuko's eye and saw the panic behind them. Sokka didn't know which scared Zuko more: _finding_ the Firelord or not finding him. 

Sokka was similarly conflicted. He breathed deeply. He had to be a leader. Zuko needed him. They all needed him.

“Right,” Sokka said, “We have 10 minutes left! We should have two benders in each group,” Sokka said, not letting his personal feelings about the matter get in the way of his practicality. If he knew he was the weak link in fighting, he could use it to his advantage. “And Toph should go with Aang who needs to move underground the fastest!” 

Nodding, Zuko and Katara peeled off, veering towards the right as Sokka, Aang, and Toph began sprinting down into the left tunnel. 

_Spirits help us now_ , he thought as they ran deeper and deeper.


	33. The Eclipse

“I'm ready.” Aang closed his eyes to breathe in deeply as Sokka stared at the large golden flames of the door in apprehension. “ _I'm ready to face the Fire Lord._ ”

He burst the doors open with a gust of air. 

They slowly stepped inside, looking past the long corridor to a distant dais and throne where... _Azula_ sat. 

_No, no, we have to turn around, now._

“So, you made it after all,” she smirked as Aang stared in shock.

“But that man! In the corridor! He said _this_ was the right way-”

Sokka groaned internally, _he should've known, he'd let himself_ trust _just like Aang had, just for a moment and now..._

Azula waved a long-nailed hand. “Didn’t my dear brother tell you I’d have a few decoys up my sleeve? _Honestly_ , now….Where _is_ Zuzu anyways?”

They were all silent as they settled into defensive postures.

“No matter,” she sighed, “I’ll have a chance to visit him in prison soon enough after you’re all dead.”

With that, she jumped from the chair, fire licking her heels as Aang jumped forward to meet her.

Sokka tried to call after him. " _No_! Aang!! We have to go back _now_ -”

But before he could finish, several Dai Li agents dropped from the ceiling and joined the attack.

* * *

Zuko stumbled a bit as they ran, feeling the impending eclipse, “We only have a few minutes!” he called out to Katara who sprinted beside him. 

They ran until they finally came across a large steel door lit on either side by torches. They both sagged, holding the stitches in their side. Zuko looked at the doors, breathing heavily. “I think this is it,” he whispered to Katara who widened her eyes, turning around as if she hoped Aang would materialize. 

“It’s okay,” Zuko said, though he had to force his voice to stay calm, “We can distract him until Aang arrives.”

“ _How_?” she said. 

Zuko stumbled, feeling suddenly weak and cold. The eclipse must have finally hit. The headache he’d been feeling all day climaxed in a dizzy rush to his head as all the warmth leached out of him suddenly.

“Uggh,” he moaned, before straightening back up and holding his hand out. As expected, no fire came. That didn’t stop it from taking his breath away. 

“It’s started,” he said, shakily.

“But how do we keep him occupied until Aang gets back here?”

“With a monster of his own creation,” he said, turning towards the doors, mouth set in a hard line.

“I'm ready to face him.”

* * *

Katara grabbed his arm. " _You don't have to!_ We can just wait for Aang, or go get him!.."

She wanted to drag him far away from his abuser, wanted to _protect_ him, but he turned towards her, face grim, and she knew deep down that she could not protect him from _this_.

She realized he needed this. He needed closure. 

"I think it always had to be this way...I won't ask you to endanger yourself like this, you can go and find Aang now, bring him back. I'll be fine," he said, though she could see the flicker of anxiety in his eyes behind his resolve at the thought of her leaving.

She planted her feet firmly, shaking her head. "No way. If you face him, I'll be behind you."

He nodded. 

Katara remained frozen as Zuko slammed open the double doors with a kick, letting their loud banging anounce his dramatic entrance. _How very Zuko_ , Katara thought, though her amusement was buried underneath all her sheer terror.

He stepped forward, head held high with more confidence than she’d seen from him all day. 

It moved her to action, and she followed behind a few paces back, unsure exactly what his plan was. 

Once her eyes adjusted to the orange glow of the room, she looked ahead to see the Fire Lord surrounded by several Royal Procession guards. He was drinking tea of all things, but set his cup down as he turned a cool gaze over to Zuko. 

She held her breath. 

“Former Prince Zuko? What a sight for sore eyes,” he smirked maliciously, “I see the lost sheep has returned, to beg forgiveness I presume? Or for a quick death?”

One of the guards turned towards his monarch questioningly, but Ozai waved them all away with a casual hand. “He poses no threat to anyone but himself.”

Katara should’ve felt relieved as the guards filed out the side doors, but she felt even more nervous withing nothing and nobody left to stand between Zuko and his father. 

“So, why are you here?” Ozai seemed tired of his own taunts. 

Zuko stepped forward, “I'm here to tell the truth.”

“My traitorous son _telling the truth_ during the middle of an eclipse. _This_ should be interesting.” Zuko didn't react.

“Azula failed in Ba Sing Se. The Avatar survived the siege of the city and has been running around under your nose this whole time in the Fire Nation...In fact, he's on his way here right now.”

Ozai sneered, “With what, a pitiful makeshift army of barbarians?" Katara shifted nervously on her feet, hating how easily he dismissed their underdog force.

"Speaking of, who’s _this_ vermin?” Katara’s breath caught as he turned his cruel golden gaze on her.

He looked like Zuko in so many ways, but there was non of the love or kindness or respect she'd come to find when she looked into Zuko's face. These eyes were empty and metallic and dispassionate.

“This is Katara," Zuko spoke up in her silence, "She’s a master waterbender from the Southern Tribe. Remember them? You tried to have them all wiped out, but you _failed_...and now she's more powerful than you could ever hope to be.”

Ozai rose to his feet, “Get _out_ , you useless, peasant-loving, traitorous piece of filth! Get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you!”

“That's another thing," Katara could sense the hint of a smirk on Zuko's lips, "I'm not taking orders from you anymore.”

Katara flinched as Ozai’s nostrils flared. She was sure without the eclipse, fire and smoke would be pouring out. 

“You _will_ obey me, or this defiant breath will be your last!” the Fire Lord took an angry step towards the edge of the dais, and she resisted the urge to step in front of Zuko. 

Zuko simply unsheathed his dual swords.

“Think again." Zuko's demeanor was cold...or rather, he burned so hot, it felt cold. She shivered as she watched him advance even closer to his tormentor.

" _I_ am going to speak my mind, and _you_ are going to listen.” Katara watched in awe as Ozai actually sat down, sneer in place. 

Then Zuko began to speak. 

* * *

Aang burst through the stone wall the Dai Li agents had created as they all rushed towards the Fire Nation princess.

Another stone column erupted from the floor's surface, but Aang managed to dodge. Sokka saw Toph bend two stone slabs to send towards the agents on either side of the throne room. The agents each landed against the sidewalls, but recovered to send two earth pillars straight at Toph, who simply conjured two earth walls to block their attacks.

She proceeded to send a stream of earth at Azula, who nimbly back-flipped onto the throne, pushed back by the stream. She smirked as she landed.

Sokka couldn't help but be reminded of a cat landing on all fours, and it reminded him painfully of the way he'd teased Zuko about his own feline-like tendencies the day before. 

He could barely breathe as he thought of his best friend and little sister, all alone on the other side of the bunker, possibly face to face with the Fire Lord himself while Aang was _here._ As he thought it, the Avatar raced toward Azula, a Dai Li agent following close behind.

Sokka wanted to call to him again, the break up the fight, but he knew if he distracted Aang too much, he might accidentally get him killed.

Aang looked up in time to catch sight of the agent rocketing along the wall and was able to break through the earth wall as the man made it. Determined, Aang sent another air blast at Azula, who managed to slip away as the blast destroyed the throne.

Sokka stood there, sword drawn, feeling more helpless than he ever had as his bending friends engaged the enemy, and he stood, useless to help.

He began crawling over some of the rubble of a blasted earth wall, so he could at least get close enough to help.

Toph was now engaged in a fierce earthbending duel with both Dai Li agents at once, while Aang continued to chase Azula around the room as she flipped and leapt, and gave chase all around, looking a bit like an airbender herself as she executed crazy gymnastic feats.

As he thought it, she soared over his head through the hole in the stone wall, barely missing him, causing him to yelp and slip back down, brusing his elbows as the others began chasing after her as she led them down the tunnel they'd come in through. 

"I can't pin her down! She's too quick!" he heard Aang yell.

_And too smart_ , Sokka thought grimly, as he began chasing the chasers, determined to end the charade once and for all.

* * *

Zuko stood tall.

“For so long, all I wanted was for you to _love_ me, to accept me,” he shook his head, “I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. _You_ , my _father_ ," he spit out the word, "who _banished_ me just for talking out of turn.”

He pointed one of his broadswords directly at Ozai’s chest, “My _father_ , who challenged me, _a thirteen-year-old boy,_ to an Agni Kai! How could you _possibly_ justify a duel with a child?” 

Zuko’s voice sent a shiver down her spine, but Ozai looked scornful, “It was to teach you respect!”

_“It was cruel!”_ Zuko yelled, repressed emotions creeping into the edges of his words, _“And it was wrong.”_

Katara felt her eyes prickle as Zuko repeated the words she'd said to him so long ago outside the cave of that first Fire Nation town they'd visited. She wanted to cry tears of relief, because for once, she knew that Zuko truly _believed_ them.

“Then you have learned nothing!” Ozai responded angrily. 

“No, I've learned _everything_ _!"_ Zuko cried, "And I've had to learn it on my own! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history, and somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world.” he shook his head again. “What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are _terrified_ by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They _hate_ us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness.”

Katara felt a tear fall down her cheek as she listened to Zuko's speech. She’d never felt prouder of someone in her life. 

But then her hands clenched as Ozai laughed derisively, “Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?”

Zuko didn’t even falter, smiling proudly, “Yes. Yes, he has.”

Ozai's face somehow grew more furious, and Katara’s knees bent, ready to fight if necessary, though she knew somewhere deep down, she could not intervene. 

This was between Zuko and Ozai alone. 

* * *

Sokka chased after Toph and Aang as _they_ chased after Azula. 

“Wait! Aang! Toph! Stop attacking! Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us. She's not even trying to win this fight!” He panted, “We have to help the others, c’mon!”

Aang turned to look at him and Sokka sighed in relief as he saw the moment Aang realized that _Katara and Zuko needed his help, now-_

He and Toph, turning and began to follow him back the way they came before. Azula cool voice rang out.

"It's a _trap_. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Aang and Toph faltered, hands clenching, but Sokka continued on, waving his hand in the air, "Ignore her!"

He got a few more paces before she tried again.

"So, _Sokka's_ your name, right? My favorite prisoner used to mention you _all_ the time."

Sokka faltered in his steps, turning to look at her face as she pretended to examine her long nails. He couldn't tell if she was lying or not.

Zuko told him Azula _always_ lied, but Sokka thought her face seemed too cruelly delighted for it to be completely false.

Azula continued, "She was convinced you were going to come _rescue_ her," she put on a faux-frown, "But of course you never came, and she gave up on you."

There was only one person she could be talking about. Sokka remembered how excited he'd been to reunite with Suki back in Ba Sing Se, the way she'd kissed him tenderly before they got on the ferry.

Sokka felt tears in his eyes as he thought about _failing_ her the same way he'd failed Yue. The rage built in his chest. He would _not lose_ someone else he cared about to the Fire Nation. 

Sokka ran forward, ready to tackle Azula. All he saw was the red haze of his own pent up rage and the red of her condescending lipstick smirk

All of a sudden his prey was pulled back against the wall as Toph trapped her with an earth cuff. He watched dispassionately as a hidden dagger fell from her palm.

He didn't care. He just stood nose to nose with her, glaring, breathing heavy. Her amber eyes were so familiar and yet so alien as they looked down at him dispassionately. 

_"Where. Is. Suki?!"_ he punctuated the words with a shake of her armor. " _Where are you keeping her!?_ "

Azula just laughed a cold, high-pitched laugh that echoed around the walls of the tunnel, then continued to rattle around in his ears. 

"Sokka," Aang's voice was sad but desperate, "she's not going to talk, let's go-"

Azula's laugh stopped too suddenly, drawing their attention. Her grin widened, eyes now gleaming with more than derision-

" _Oops_ , seems like firebending is back on... _You lose_ ," she swept her feet in a roundhouse kick, and Sokka stumbled back, barely avoiding the arc of her blue flames.

* * *

“I’ve been teaching the Avatar firebending, so that he can defeat you.”

Ozai frowned, but then his face shifted into a smirk just like Azula’s. 

“Really?" he cocked his head to the side, "Since you're a full-blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless. You've got your swords. Why don't you just do it now? Or have your _waterbender scum_ do it for you if you’re too weak?”

Zuko didn’t take the bait. “Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny.”

He calmly sheathed his swords. 

He turned to Katara, “We’ll have to go get Aang ourselves.” His voice was calm and collected, though she could see the message in his eyes.

_We’re almost out of time. It’s too late. Aang's not coming. Retreat._

He cast a disparaging glance at his father before he turned, “Goodbye.”

* * *

Sokka fell back, seeing stars as Azula's blue flames clouded his sight in the dark tunnel. She back-flipped onto the tunnel wall and broke free of Toph's earth cuffs. Then, flipping forward, extending her leg, she nearly caught Aang in the head. His friend managed to dodge the hit at the last moment, but the real damage had already been done. 

Azula landed on the ground, slowly rising and smirking. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down a secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'd be _more than happy_ to see you now." She spun around and ran, but this time Aang did not give chase, having learned his lesson. 

  
Sokka turned and punched the stone wall where Azula had stood moments ago, not caring as his Knucles smarted painfully. More angry tears trailed down his cheeks. 

_"I fell for it!"_ he screamed, cursing Azula with every curse he could think of before staggering back, grief setting in. "I-I used up all our time."

  
"It's not your fault, Sokka. Azula was ready for us. She had every move planned out," Toph tried, but it made Sokka feel even worse.

_Zuko warned me of this, but I didn't listen. I was too arrogant....I went ahead with the plan anyways. I had every chance to stop this._ _He trusted me. They all trusted me, and now..._

"And now it's too late," Sokka's voice cracked as he said it.

"Maybe it's not too late," Aang said, though his eyes were watery, "The eclipse is over, but I can face the Fire Lord anyway!"

  
"No," Sokka shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea."

  
"But I'm ready! I can even do a few advanced firebending moves! I came here with a job to do and everyone's counting on me."

  
Toph shook her head too, "It's over, Aang. You're not fully trained, and without the edge of the Eclipse..." she trailed off. "It just wasn't our day. What we need to do now is go and help our friends."

* * *

Katara made to follow Zuko as Ozai jumped to his feet, screaming, “ _Coward!_ You think you're brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during the eclipse. If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out!”

Zuko kept walking. 

“Don't you want to know what happened to your _mother_?” 

Katara watched as Zuko stopped, resolve crumbling for the first time since he’d opened those doors. 

He stopped abruptly and turned to face his father. Ozai smiled, knowing he had him. 

“What happened that night?” Zuko’s voice was less certain than before. 

Katara listened intently too as Ozai spoke, curious in spite of herself. “My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son, and I was going to do it.” Katara didn’t know what that meant, but Zuko looked unhappy if unsurprised. 

“Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne, and she proposed a plan, a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared.”

Ozai bared his teeth in what might’ve been a smile on a more human-looking person, “Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished.”

Katara could see the tears collect in Zuko’s eyes, “So she's _alive_?” his voice shook. 

“Perhaps,” Ozai said indifferently, “But now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason,” Ozai closed his eyes “…Your penalty will be far steeper.”

Katara realized what was happening a split second before it happened.

Ozai opened his eyes and, in a split second, his fists were full of crackling electricity, and without hesitation, he raised them, firing a bolt straight at his son. 

" _ZUKO_!" Her heart stopped as she watched, unable to react in time to stop it, even if she knew how.

Even as she screamed his name, Zuko slid back several feet from the impact of the bolt, halfway across the small throne room.

But somehow...against all odds, he was still standing, electricity tracing along his arms, and she watched in shock as he twisted them in a graceful slowing motion, somehow managing to redirect the raw power, sending it back.

She watched, eyes wide, as the lightning flowed from Zuko fingers back to Ozai’s throne. She shielded her eyes as the resulting explosion caused the Fire Lord to slam into the back wall, but before she could see how badly he was injured, she felt a hand grab her, and she was pulled out of the throne room as they sprinted through a cloud of dust and debris. 

“Is he-?”

“No,” Zuko said, panting heavily with exertion, “I meant what I said in there...It’s Aang’s destiny, not mine.”

She nodded, and they continued to run through the tunnel. 

* * *

Zuko sprinted ahead blindly. The only thought in his head was _Out. Out. Out._

He could hardly believe what he’d done and said in done in there. It didn't feel real. Nothing felt very real- 

Suddenly, he had the wind knocked out of him as he ran into someone running the other direction. His hand slipped from Katara's as he thudded to the ground, looking up to see... _Azula_ on the ground in front of him.

Her amber eyes widened as his did, and they both jumped to their feet at the same time, entering familiar fighting stances. 

Azula glanced over his head as they circled each other, looking down the tunnel they’d come from barreling out of. “You actually did it, huh, Zuzu? You found Dad during an eclipse?”

Zuko nodded, “I told him the truth, Azula. All of it.” 

“Must’ve been refreshing,” she mocked, though there was something in her eyes that seemed mildly envious to him. 

Zuko waited for her signature blue fire to erupt, but nothing came. She just kept pacing. Azula _had_ always liked to play with her food before eating, but he let himself hope it was more than that.

“I suppose you also explained why you chose this Water Tribe _rat_ over your own sister back in Ba Sing Se?” She shot a cool glare at Katara who scoffed next to him, arms moving towards her bending water, but Zuko could swear there was a genuine question and maybe some hurt buried in his sister’s voice, so he decided to be honest.

“You miscalculated my loyalties, Azula.”

She stiffened, looking him up and down, eyes unreadable. “I suppose I did.”

“You can join us, Azula,” he said, dropping his hands as Katara sent him an _Are you insane?_ look.

_Maybe I am,_ he thought. _But I_ _was given a choice. I have to give Azula a real chance to make one as well._

Azula stared at him for a moment, eyes wide, before she started laughing.

Then her laugh turned into a cackle.

Then she was practically choking with how hard she was laughing. 

He hadn't seen her lose her composure like this since...well, ever. It was unsettling.

“I’m being _serious_ , _Lala_ ,” he used the nickname he hadn’t used since they were kids. 

Unlike when she used ' _Zuzu_ ' to condescend to him, he said it with the same tenderness he’d used as a seven year old, and it made her eyes flash dangerously, and her laughing stopped. 

“I _know_ you are, you _moron_!” her eyes narrowed again as her hands finally ignited, and she threw a blue ball of fire at him, which he easily deflected.

Katara looked ready to intervene, but Zuko didn't need her backup yet. Azula wasn't utilizing her normal level of skill and intensity.

_Maybe she'd tired herself out fighting earlier....or maybe..._

She sent another ball of flame, but he only had to sidestep for it to miss. _It was like she wasn’t even trying._

He wanted so badly to _hope_ -

“ _Get out of here, Zuzu!_ ” She screamed, angrily, stomping her foot when he made no move to attack her in return.

“Azula, please _listen_ to me for once-”

She shook her head, eyes glowing with rage, “ _GET OUT!_ ”

he saw her summon more blue flame and knew this time she wouldn’t miss, so he grabbed Katara’s hand, and they raced out of the tunnel.

He waited for the ball of blue fire or a bolt of lightning to follow them, but nothing came.

He didn't dare turn back around to see why.

No Dai Li followed them either as they stumbled into the sunlight, breathing heavily.

_Azula had made a choice, but somehow, he was still alive._

_And it wasn't because he was lucky. Azula had always been the one who dealt in luck..._

"There!" Katara shouted, pulling him towards the familiar figures in yellow, blue, and green. Their faces were all grim and devastated.

There were tear tracks clearly visible on Aang's face, "It's over," his voice was hoarse. "I-I missed my shot."

Zuko turned to Sokka whose eyes seemed hollow and defeated. But he had the wherewithal all to say in an uncharacteristically gravelly voice, "We have to get to the others. We have to find a way out."

Numbly, they all scrambled to jump onto the armored Appa, who quickly ascended as they rushed to save as much of the invasion force as they could. As they flew farther and farther away from the bunker, Azula’s almost-hysterical laugh echoed around in Zuko’s good ear.

For some reason, leaving her behind felt like a worse failure than leaving Ozai alive. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying to start sowing the seeds of an Azula redemption arc like👀


	34. The Retreat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka's turn for Angst
> 
> (Before we begin, can we appreciate for a min how well Sokka's shame/biggest failure/loss of honor plotline parallels Zuko's ?? 
> 
> In this actual ep on show, there's the scene where Sokka is gazing at his Water Tribe armor, and it immediately cuts to Zuko taking OFF his Fire Nation armor...Like we all Love those Zuko and Aang parallels, but the Zukka parallels are so *chef's kiss* as well......Good stuff)
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy!

Sokka’s arms ached as he, Toph, and Zuko scaled their way down the sides of the volcano, trying to regroup with the others. Aang and Katara had stayed on Appa and were now attacking the Fire Nation forces from the air using their combined bending. 

He looked up at the bright sky, seeing the underside of an airship.

_ Well that can’t mean anything good _ , he thought. 

Sure enough, a hatch at the bottom opened up, and Sokka turned to look at his troops below. 

“Try and find cover!” he shouted, hoping his voice would carry. “I think we're about to see some bombs!”

Aang and Katara approached from a distance. “There’s no time!” he yelled at Toph who immediately created a steep earth ramp underneath them as they let go of their hand and footholds, throwing caution to the wind.

The three of them slid down to the bottom of the ramp, falling out next to one of their tanks, teeth rattled, feeling very bruised and slightly concussed, but Toph stood up in time to bend a protective ceiling of earth overhead as the airships released their bombs. 

Immediately, it started to crumble under the impact. Toph created two earth columns to help support it, but Sokka knew they still had to act fast. 

Sokka and Zuko stood shakily, watching as their forces struggled to remain upright, tanks stalled and on foot soldiers, shaken by the air assault. Even with Aang and Katara on Appa, they didn’t have enough air support to counter the airships. 

Which is why Sokka was confused when the airships didn’t launch a second wave of bombs, but continued flying past them overhead. 

Katara and Aang unsaddled next to them, running over. 

“Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?” his sister called, as the nearby Water Tribe soldiers wandered towards Sokka, waiting for an answer he didn’t have. 

His confidence was still too shaken, and he was thankful when his Dad turned to face the gathering group of men for him. 

_I failed_ , he thought, _again_.

“They're heading for the beach,” Zuko said, gold eyes widening, “They're gonna destroy the submarines!”

Sokka felt hopeless, “How are we all going to escape?”

Hakoda shook his head slowly, putting his hand down on his shoulder, “We're not.”

Sokka sighed and nodded. He’d backed them into this corner, but he’d be damned if he didn’t make a good final stand. 

He remembered what Zuko had said to him earlier that day.

_ “We’ll win or go down trying..” _

He steeled himself, turning to the bruised faces in front of him, “Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar, we could still win.”

But his dad just looked sad and resigned, “Yes, with the Avatar we could still win...on _another_ day.” 

Sokka was already shaking his head before his dad finished, “You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa, together.”

Katara looked as shocked as he felt, “What?” She grabbed their father, “We can't leave you behind! We won't leave anyone behind!” she said, turning to face the rest of the gathered invasion force. 

Hakoda smiled at her mournfully, “You're our only chance in the long run. You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive.”

_ “No!” _ Sokka cried running forward, but a hand stopped him.

He felt betrayed as he turned around to see Zuko shaking his head at him, arm on his bicep. 

“Hakoda is right, Sokka. Getting Aang out has to be our top priority...sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war.”  Zuko turned to face Hakoda who stared back, some sort of understanding passing between them.

It reminded Sokka of when Zuko had sacrificed himself, let himself get captured to save their cover back on the Fire Navy ship...and it had almost gotten him  _ killed _ .

_ No, no, no _ , Sokka thought.  _ I can’t do this again. I can’t _ .

“It makes the most sense, Sokka,” Zuko’s voice was soft but firm, “Live to fight another day.”

“What about  _ them _ ?-” he choked out, looking around at  his _ people. His tribe _ . 

Bato stepped forward, “The youngest of our force will go with you. The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners, but we'll all survive this battle.”

Haru’s father stepped forward as well, “I've got some experience with the Fire Nation prisons. It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by.”

The others all nodded grimly, and Sokka felt another piece of his heart break. 

_ He’d proved himself alright...Proved to be a failure _ ....

He heard Aang cry out in alarm, “They're at the beach already!” Everyone’s heads turned. 

Five bombs fell at once, one for each of the submarines. They were destroyed instantly, turned to shrapnel in seconds.

Sokka shut his eyes, willing himself not to cry.

He heard the voice of the Mechanist in front of him, “Bye, son.” He opened his eyes to see the man hugging Teo as Toph helped him onto Appa with an earth platform. 

“Bye, Dad. I'm really proud of you.” The boy put on a brave smile, and Sokka felt his whole body start to shake. 

Pipsqueak helped lift The Duke into the saddle who turned around and called out, “I'll miss you, Pipsqueak.”

“Take care, The Duke.”

Haru clung to his father, “We'll be back for you, Dad.”

Tyro slapped him on the back, “If we don't escape on our own first.”

Haru bowed respectfully to him, and Sokka felt his stomach plummet as Hakoda approached Sokka and Katara.

_ No, no, please no. I can’t do this again, I can’t- _

He put his hands on both of their shoulders, and it felt like a death sentence to Sokka, who was still shaking uncontrollably, “We lost today, but we've never been this close.”

He knelt to the ground to face them directly, “We  _ tasted  _ victory, and that counts for something.”

Katara wasn’t hiding her tears as she ran forward to fling her arms around his neck, “We'll miss you, Dad.” Hakoda held his other arm out, looking up at Sokka. 

Shakily, Sokka joined the hug. “Bye, Dad. We won't be apart for too long this time. I  _ promise _ .”

_ I will not stop until I fulfill that promise _ , Sokka thought, sending up an oath to all the spirits he could think of. 

Too soon, his dad broke away, standing up, shoulders squared. 

Numbly, Sokka staggered toward Appa. Aang sat at the reigns already, tears streaming as he looked out at the others. 

Toph hopped on, followed by Katara, who was still crying.  Zuko gave Sokka a hand getting into the saddle, and normally he’d shake it off, embarrassed, but he accepted it this time, too numb and shaky to get up on his own. 

_ This isn’t happening. It’s not, it’s not real- _

“Thank you all for being so brave and so strong,” Aang called out, voice determined. “I'm going to make this up to you. Your sacrifice will  _ not  _ be in vain.”

Appa groaned sadly, and they took to the air, watching grimly as they deserted their people. 

_ What kind of leader deserts his own troops? _ Sokka thought miserably. He leaned over the side of the saddle and retched, but nothing came up. 

He fell back again, staring ahead, breathing shallow.

No one spoke. There was no sound except the air whistling by and Katara’s hitched breaths as she buried her face in Zuko’s tunic, trying to hide her tears to no avail. 

Sokka felt every one of her sobs in his own chest. 

After a while, once they could no longer see even a speck of the Fire Nation capital on the horizon, Sokka turned to Aang listlessly, “Where are we going?”

It was more routine than anything. In that exact moment, Sokka cared very little whether he lived or died. 

Aang shouted back, voice duller than ever, “I know a safe place we can go to lie low for a while.”

He didn’t elaborate further, and Sokka didn’t care. 

He curled up on his side, and prayed that this was all one big nightmare. 

  
  
  


THE END.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you go: a very HAPPY ENDING lmao....
> 
> This story WILL continue with a ~3rd installment~ titled "oh, but she burns" as our friends retreat to the Western Air Temple. 
> 
> But thanks so much to everyone for reading, giving Kudos, kind comments, subscribing, etc.! <3<3<3 I really appreciate all the positive feedback, and I really hope you continue to enjoy reading :)


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